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Published: January 1, 2009

Marketing 101

So you’re completing a mixed-use building downtown, and the time has come to market it.

What’s the best way to do that?

John Vetter, principal with Milwaukee development firm Vetter Denk, said relying on real estate listings and open houses won’t do the trick anymore.

Vetter started a marketing campaign in November for the WaterMark, a mixed-use development in downtown Green Bay that will include 36,000-square-feet of retail, 45,000-square-feet of office space and another 25 loft condominiums.

The campaign includes direct-network marketing, which Vetter defined as marketing toward “like-minded people.”

Vetter said his Milwaukee firm tried the method with the Bluff Homes development along the Milwaukee River.

The firm held a series of monthly parties as a way to inform people within the company’s network about the development.

Vetter said the process resulted in word-of-mouth marketing and, ultimately, several of the development’s tenants heard about the homes through a friend of Vetter Denk’s original network.

Vetter took the marketing approach to another level with WaterMark however.

He e-mailed marketing materials to 7,500 people within the network of Downtown Green Bay Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the downtown Green Bay area.

Vetter said the firm received an offer on a condo within 48 hours.

Generating portable solar power

Dan Jones said he hated hauling gas to power generators in
his hunting camps in upstate New York.

So when he visited his sister in Phoenix a light bulb lit up above his head: Why not build a solar-powered generator?

With the help of his sister, Debra Jones, Dan founded Spirit of the Sun Solar Systems LLC in June. The Phoenix-based company sells a solar-powered generator that rides on a 4-foot-by-6-foot trailer.

But the unit, which uses 3-foot-by-4-foot solar cells, doesn’t need the hot Arizona sun to run construction tools such as saws and drills. Dan said even the slightest bit of daylight can charge the unit’s batteries, which store 1,600 amp hours.

Dan also said his portable, solar-powered generator can run a typical home appliance three days without any recharge.

The S.O.S Solar Systems’ generator can be purchased for $15,000, which is more expensive than generators with similar output, Dan said.

But the unit requires no gas, no maintenance and can last up to 25 years.
He estimated the cost difference could be recovered in five years.

Line of succession

Jack Somerville wanted to sell his family’s 62-year-old architectural firm, Somerville Inc., but he didn’t want the Green Bay company to lose its name or identity.

So rather than sell out to a larger firm, Somerville sold the company to his employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Program.

Michael Kadow, president of Somerville, said employees established a trust through the program to borrow enough to buy the company. Ownership transfers to employees as the debt is paid down with company profits, Kadow said.

He said Somerville is in year 10 of the 15-year process to exchange ownership.

“Jack had a couple of options,” Kadow said. “He could sell the firm to a larger enterprise, which is occurring more frequently in all businesses, or he could hold onto the legacy his family established by passing it on to his employees.”

But Kadow said the ESOP program accomplished more than carrying on Somerville’s namesake. Each of the firm’s 40 staff members changed mindsets from that of an employee to that of an owner, he said.

As a result, employees take more responsibility in areas such as profitability, quality and client maintenance.

“This was a healthy transition for our company,” said Kadow, who started with Somerville in 1985. “New ideas are encouraged, there is a self-policing of the company, and there is a new enthusiasm about working here.”

Kadow said the company earned record profits in 2007, and, despite a downturn in the economy, maintained strong profitability this year.

Kadow said the ESOP also helps with recruitment.

“It’s very appealing to potential employees,” Kadow said. “They come and work for us, and, after five years, they are owners.”

One easy way to cut fuel emissions

Greg Koepel is a vice president for Roehl Transport Inc., one of the largest trucking firm’s in the nation. The Marshfield firm won multiple awards from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Jessica Lawent worked as an environmental scientist for nine years and leads the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Clean Diesel initiative.

And what is their expert advice for Wisconsin’s contractors looking to reduce fuel emissions? Turn off your engine when it’s not in use.

Both said contractors hesitate before cutting the motor on construction equipment because of a longstanding falsehood.

“There’s a lot of myths out there that you need to warm up a diesel engine,” Koepel said. “Turn it off. When you’re ready to go, turn it on. If you have to turn it off and on several times, so be it.”

Lawent said construction lags behind other industries concerning fuel emissions because many firms lease rather than own equipment. Few companies want to invest in leased equipment, she said.

But the DNR recently formed a committee with the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association to get the construction industry up to speed.

Besides turning off an engine when not in use, Lawent said, two technologies can help contractors cut down on their environmental footprint.

She said contractors can install idling timers that turn equipment off when engines sit in idle too long, but then turn them back on if the engines get too cold.

Installation of a diesel oxidation catalyst also can reduce fuel emissions, Lawent said.

Shaped like a honeycomb structure, the catalyst filters air through cells that trap harmful pollutants. The air that comes out is 50 percent cleaner, Lawent said, and the catalyst (which costs about $1,000) never needs replacing or cleaning.

Koepel said cutting fuel emissions does more than help the environment. The process saves on fuel consumption and wins points with clientele, he said.

“It’s especially changed in the last 10 months, where customers have developed the kind of sensitivities that we have,” Koepel said of cutting fuel emissions. “People want to do their part.”

Root, root, root for the home trees

People around the nation are calling for new technologies to help the world become greener.

But, as two studies point out, there’s something already in existence that can really change the effect people have on their environment: trees.

A group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell and the University of California-Davis — in a series of studies supported by the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program — investigated innovative ways to maximize the potential of trees in curbing storm-water issues.

Traditional storm-water management focuses on regulating the flow of runoff to waters, according to a press release about those studies, but generally does little to restore the hydrologic cycle disrupted by extensive paving and compacted urban soils with low permeability.

The lack of infiltration affects groundwater recharge and has repercussions on water quality downstream.

The studies found that when planted in urban settings, the roots of black oak, ash and red maple trees can penetrate compacted soil and increase infiltration rates by an average of 153 percent.

In a separate study, professor David Leband in the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences found that homeowners can reduce energy consumption 11.4 percent by shading only 17.5 percent of their home.

Leband said the reduction in usage could result in a savings of up to $30 per month.