Dan and Tom Austad
Door County Hardware of Sturgeon Bay - Entrepreneur of the Year '05
Dan and Tom Austad, co-owners of Door County Hardware of Sturgeon Bay and winners of the second annual Door County Entrepreneur of the Year Award. A true family business, the history of Door County Hardware began in 1939 when Russell Austad, father of the current owners, started in the hardware business. Russell Austad bought the business in 1953 and successfully ran and grew it until his death in 1960. The Austad brothers purchased the business from their mother in 1973, and both of their spouses and all six of Dan and Tom’s children have worked at the store at one time or another, including Dan’s daughter Amy, who currently serves as General Manager. 

The company experienced a significant setback when a fire destroyed the business and its inventory in January of 1977. Within 90 days, however, Door County Hardware was back and open for business. When Dan and Tom took over, they continued a series of expansions and improvements began by their father. Their most recent renovation in 2002 increased the size of the business to 14,000 square feet, and moved the main entrance from Third Avenue around the corner to Jefferson Street. For many years, both residents and visitors to the peninsula have relied on Door County Hardware. The company currently stocks more than 45,000 individual items, and is known as the place to find anything a homeowner could possibly need. Door County Hardware has survived ownership changes, a devastating fire, increased retail competition and several major renovations to continually supply their customer’s hardware and house ware needs for over 65 years.

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Mark Brunsvold
Future Machine, Inc. 
In early 2006, a new manufacturing company began operations in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park. Future Machine, Inc. is a start-up medical device manufacturer, located in the center section of the former Emerson Motors building, produces plastic and titanium screws and surgical implements. Company founder Mark Brunsvold brings his prior experience starting a similar company in Florida to Door County. Future Machine Inc. is dedicated to machining the latest designs in the medical device industry, using sophisticated numerical controlled machines to produce surgical instruments and implants to exacting specifications.

The company intends to market its services across a wide spectrum of medical companies. Future Machine was assisted in financing their start-up costs through funding from the Revolving Loan Funds administered by the Door County Economic Development Corporation. According to Brunsvold, “Future Machine Inc. intends to be a high volume manufacturer with quality our number one priority. In the short term, we anticipate having 20 employees and hope to have at least 75 in the course of five to seven years. We are confident that we will be a major employer for the Sturgeon Bay area.” 

Brunsvold was born in Milwaukee and grew up in St. Louis. He attended the University of Missouri-Rolla where he studied mechanical engineering. After school, he started his first company, a metal fabrication and machine business, with a partner. After eleven years, he left the company to pursue medical device machining and founded Machined Metals Inc. Machined Metals began in a 1,200 square foot space with no employees. One year later, the company occupied 10,000 square feet and had eighteen employees. The growth continued for seven years until Arthrex Manufacturing, its biggest customer, purchased Machined Metals in 2001. After leaving Arthrex as VP of manufacturing in 2002, Brunsvold founded Black Pearl Marine, a Florida yacht sales organization selling Post Yachts, Black Pearl Yachts and brokerage boats.

Brunsvold, his wife Jesse, who has family in Door County, and their four young children are looking forward to their new life in the Sturgeon Bay area.Future Machine, Inc. used low interest loans from the DCEDC and County of Door Revolving Loan Funds administered by Door County Economic Development Corporation to purchase three pieces of equipment necessary for the establishment of the company. As part of the loan agreement, Future Machine will create twenty-four full-time equivalent jobs within three years.

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Mike Keyser
Key Industrial Plastics
Key Industrial Plastics, Inc. is a vacuum forming and plastic fabricating company with design, prototyping and value added services. Equipment includes three modern vacuum forming machines – two sheet fed and one roll fed – as well as four CNC routers. Items produced range from industrial wear pads to candle packaging to food service trays. Although they currently manufacture for other companies, Key Industrial Plastics hopes to begin the introduction of their own products by the spring of 2007.

The company started as Key Industrial Prototype Services in August 1998 and was run out of owner Mike Keyser’s garage until they picked up their first steady customer.  In March 1999, they leased a 500 square foot industrial space in the Door County Business Development Center business incubator. Within a few months, they outgrew the 500 square foot room and moved into a larger 1,000 square foot space. By April of 2001 the company had grown to fill a 2,000 square foot area. Growth continued and in October of 2002, Keyser relocated his company to a custom build 6,400 square foot facility in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park. Designed with future growth in mind, the current location has the capability of adding an additional 6,000 square feet. The company is exploring possible additions to their production capabilities, including injection molding and foaming operations.

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Chris Moore
N.E.W. Industries
Chris Moore, Owner and President of N.E.W. Industries, a Door County provider of CNC production machined parts, weldments, and complete secondary services, purchased the company in 2000 and grew it from 38 employees to 130 (and still hiring). The company employs people from Door, Kewaunee, and Brown counties. Gov. Doyle's office recently presented a $57,000 Workforce Advancement Training grant to N.E.W. Industries. N.E.W. Industries will contribute more than $19,000 of its own funds. Northeast Wisconsin Technical College applied for the grant and will provide the advanced machining and leadership training.

The grant comes to N.E.W. Industries at an auspicious time. N.E.W. Industries spent October 2006 moving into its new, larger facility in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park. Moore said the 80,000-square-foot facility will allow room for growth, and particularly a more integrated and efficient operating configuration and overall work flow.Moore said the grant is "of critical strategic importance to us. It's one thing to have a great facility and the best equipment there is, but none of that works by itself. We depend on having high-quality, highly skilled employees. Having the resources to train and accelerate people's ability to develop new skills and technical acumen - the importance of that really can't be overstated."

Machining nationwide has suffered as simple mass-production projects are outsourced to countries like China and India. But N.E.W. Industries has created a growing niche by accepting technically complex projects and providing advanced services to customers. The grant-funded training is customized to help employees learn valuable new skills without disrupting production."Our business is not a button-pushing type of manufacturing environment," Moore notes. "There's a lot of technical skill required, a lot of knowledge, and a tremendous number of variables in what we do because the need for precision is so great. Unlike stamping, where the same thing happens every time, machining involves a lot more variables. Factors such as the specific type of machine, tooling, raw material - even the temperature and humidity that day - can affect the production rate, consistency, and dimensional accuracy of the parts being manufactured.”

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Marine Travelift/ExacTech
Industry of the Year 2006
Nearly 50 years ago, the founders of Marine Travelift had the idea that a boat could be lifted out of the water with less stress on the hull, safely and quickly moved around a boatyard or marina with minimum labor and then just as easily put back into the water. This idea launched a revolution in boat handling. In addition to mobile boat hoists, the company makes self-propelled transporters, forklifts and hatch cover cranes. Marine Travelift also makes gantry cranes under the Shuttlelift brand.

Led by one of the industry’s most talented engineering teams, and with a half-century of experience, Marine Travelift, Inc. has established a worldwide reputation for quality, reliability, performance, customer support and satisfaction that is second to none in the marine industry. From its first self-propelled, 7-ton mobile boat hoist in 1957, to the giant 800-ton units currently in service, Marine Travelift, Inc. now has more than 3,600 boat hoists in use around the world.

Sales revenues for Marine Travelift, Inc. have steadily increased since Stephen Pfeifer and Jim Ashton became company owners in 2003. In summer 2006, Governor Doyle presented Marine Travelift with a $250,000 Technology Zone tax credit allocation to support product development and business expansion. Door County Economic Development Corporation assisted Marine Travelift with the Technology Zone tax credit program application and approval process, and also assisted in financing their expansion costs through funding from the Revolving Loan Funds administered by DCEDC. Marine Travelift started 2006 with 95 employees, and ended the year with 118 employees on board.
 
The facilities at ExacTech, a steel fabrication company also owned by Pfeifer and Ashton, were improved in 2006 by a multi-million dollar facelift and equipment upgrade, and the addition of 18,000 square feet. ExacTech produces the heavy steel fabrication components used in Marine Travelift and Shuttlelift products, and makes similar components for numerous other global manufacturers. ExacTech has the capacity to handle metal fabrication jobs up to 100 tons, as well as the smallest and toughest jobs. ExacTech started 2006 with 71 employees, and ended the year with 103 on board.

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Jeremy Popelka and Stephanie Trenchard
Popelka Glass Studios
Jeremy Popelka and Stephanie Trenchard began Popelka Glass Studios in the Door County Business Development Center business incubator facility in 1997. The studio produces award-winning functional and decorative glass artworks in Sturgeon Bay that are carried in galleries around the country, including a line of blown work which utilizes a wide variety of techniques, from optical molds from the Roman Empire to mosaic applications from Murrano. The couple also creates custom and commission work for collectors worldwide, collaborating with architects, designers and homeowners to create specialized glass light fixtures, centerpieces, drawer handles and other household pieces. In January 2003, they relocated into a studio and gallery space in the downtown shopping district of Sturgeon Bay. Door County Economic Development Corporation assisted in financing their start-up and expansion costs through funding from the Revolving Loan Funds administered by DCEDC.

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Tom Voegele and Greg Rohde
Bay Pharmacy - Entrepreneur of the Year '06
Bay Pharmacy, co-owned by Tom Voegele and Gregory Rohde, was the winner of the third annual Door County Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bay Pharmacy has been building its reputation for over thirty-two years. Current owners Greg Rohde and Tom Voegele have grown and established Bay Pharmacy as one of the top independent pharmacies in the nation and have been nationally recognized by Drug Topics magazine in 1993 and 1994.

Over the past two decades, Bay Pharmacy has faced strong competition from big box stores and national and regional chains. Because of very progressive programs and management, however, the company has continued to grow, adding 7000 square feet since 2003 and completely remodeling their retail space in 2005. The staff, currently numbering 46, has also continued to grow through education and dedication to an ongoing commitment to the community. As part of its commitment, Bay Pharmacy has long supported local groups, charities, fundraisers and individuals with monetary or merchandise donations.

Many local social and civic organizations have benefited from Bay Pharmacy employees doing presentations on various health issues and topics.Bay Pharmacy was instrumental in organizing and participating in the first medical equipment recycling program in the state of Wisconsin.  Bay Pharmacy staff locally collected used equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and hospital beds, which was then sent to Madison to be refurbished for needy individuals throughout the state.  Bay Pharmacy was also involved in Hurricane Katrina relief, donating over $34,000 in supplies and used medical equipment to the Gulf Coast region. One of Bay Pharmacy’s latest projects has been to assist in educating the public on the new Medicare Part D drug program.  In early 2006, Greg Rohde traveled to Florida for four days of intensive education on the Part D program. Since returning, Greg and his staff have provided over thirty hours of educational seminars in the county.

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Vicki Wilson
Door County Coffee & Tea - Entrepreneur of the Year '04
Victoria Wilson's Door County Coffee & Tea has been providing freshly roasted coffee to their clients for almost thirteen years. The company began in 1994 in the Village of Forestville with two employees, including Wilson. They would create special coffee roasts, place all the sales calls and make all the deliveries. By 1997, the company had outgrown their original site and began construction of their 12,000 sq. ft. roasting and retail facility in Carlsville.

A Chicago native, Wilson took the entrepreneurial plunge with her husband after ten years as a buyer for the Shopko Corporation in Green Bay. “We knew we had a really great idea,” states Wilson. “Living and working in Door County was always our objective” in starting the business, she says. “We love it here.”

Today, Door County Coffee has 35 employees, recently added another 5,000 square feet to their facility and roasts approximately 2,000 lbs. of coffee daily. They ship wholesale to restaurants, resorts, B&B's, gift and gourmet shops, coffeehouses and grocery stores throughout the United States and have sold their products in France, Guam and the Dominican Republic. The retail shop is open seven days a week, year round, and features fresh bakery, light luncheon fare, coffee and espresso drinks. The shop also carries over 75 freshly roasted coffees, teas, gourmet foods and home décor items.

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Washington Island Ferry Line
Industry of the Year 2005
Washington Island Ferry Line was the winner of the 2005 Door County Industry of the Year Award. The Washington Island Ferry Line, Inc. is entering its 66th year of service as a year-round transportation provider in Door County, carrying 210,000 passengers and over 75,000 cars, trucks and trailers annually. The daily importance of carrying cargo, US Mail, supplies and freight, in addition to providing the only transportation link for year-round island residents, seasonal homeowners and visitors, gives credence to the ferry line’s unofficial title: ‘Lifeline to the Island.’

The Ferry Line has 14 full-time and two part-time employees during winter ­– many entering their second or third decade with the company – with double those numbers during the busy summer season. The Ferry Line payroll is a major contributor to the Washington Island economy.  The Washington Island Ferry Line fleet consists of five ferries, ranging from the 65-foot C.G. Richter (1950) to the 104-foot Arni J. Richter (2003). The company is particularly proud of the fact that each of their vessels was designed, financed and built in Door County, specifically for service in Death’s Door waters off the Door Peninsula. In 1994, the Ferry Line worked with state and local governments to build the protected harbor at Northport.  The WisDOT Harbor Assistance Program, with Door County as the grant recipient, along with financial and property contributions from the Ferry Line, established a safe, dependable mainland docking facility. 

Washington Island Ferry Line, Inc. operates under a philosophy that echoes the strengths and personality of the two men who began the company, Carl and Arni Richter. Safety, reliability, good equipment, reasonable fares, attention to customer service, and a healthy respect for weather – especially winter weather – are qualities the company has relied on for success and growth.

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Baylake Bank
Industry of the Year 2004
Baylake Bank, winner of the 2004 Door County Industry of the Year Award, is a state chartered banking corporation whose first charter was granted in 1876, and was known as Bank of Sturgeon Bay for much of its history.  The Bank of Sturgeon Bay evolved in Door County over the course of many generations until 1994, when a strategic decision was made to aggressively grow the company beyond the geographic boundaries of Door County.  The name was then changed to Baylake Bank to more accurately reflect the proposed growth areas of the lakeshore and Green Bay.  Through branching, acquisitions and mergers with other organizations, Baylake Bank grew from eight financial centers in 1994 to twenty-seven in 2004.  The bank opened their largest and most ambitious facility to date, the 30,000 square foot Baylake City Center in downtown Green Bay, in June 2005.

In 1994, Baylake Bank had just over 100 employees. Throughout its 27 community financial centers, the bank now employs 340 people. Baylake Bank has grown to $1 billion in assets and $750 Million in loans, and currently serves the counties of Door, Brown, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Waupaca and Waushara.  The Baylake Bank motto is "Helping Build the Good Life," based on the company’s commitment to their customers and their communities, and doing what's right to contribute to and help create a better quality of life in Door County and Northeast Wisconsin.

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Greg & Marsha Meissner
Meissner Landscape, Inc. - Entrepreneur of the Year '07
Meissner Landscape Inc., co-owned by Greg and Marsha Meissner, is the winner of the fourth annual Door County Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Meissner Landscape, Inc. is an organization that prides itself on honesty, integrity and service to customers. In 1982, Greg and Marsha Meissner bought the landscape contracting division from a local nursery business and relocated their new company to its present location on County Highway T in Sturgeon Bay. A true family business, Greg and Marsha’s son Nick joined the company in 2003 after graduating from the University of Minnesota, providing a smooth transition for the future.

Meissner Landscape has expanded from a two-crew business in 1982 to one sending out six construction and two maintenance crews each day. The company employs fourteen full time and seven part time employees year round, with an additional six to seven employees hired to help with the workload during the busiest part of the season.

Company growth has been steady over the past 24 years, with sales increasing more than 17 times since 1982. This history of successful development can be traced to the simple fact that Meissner Landscape supplies quality products and first class workmanship to all clients. Because of their commitment to quality, both peers and customers recognize Meissner Landscape as a leader in the industry.

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