Business Digest for April 7, 2017

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Firms earn Americas awards

Nick DeMark of Waukesha-based DeMark’s Building Maintenance Solutions has been awarded a Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Business Excellence Forum & Awards Conference for the Americas held in Houston recently.

Two other Elm Grove-based ActionCOACH clients were also nominated for Americas awards: Brilliance Business Solutions, Milwaukee, was nominated for Best Company Culture; and Allrite Home & Remodeling, Milwaukee, was nominated for Best Overall Company.

ActionCOACH also earned Firm of the Year for the third straight year, and Americas Most Community Impact award for the second year.

Eppstein Uhen adds 3 hires

Eppstein Uhen Architects has added three new hires to its Milwaukee office. All three will be part of the Learning Studio, providing solutions for students, staff, and community members.

The new hires are Maggie Hogan Skaug as a project architect, and Roberto Jaimes and Mary Burke as project specialists.

OMNNI wins WisDOT award

OMNNI Associates was recently recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for its role in the design of the CTH KW Bridge over Pratt Creek in Dodge County. The bridge project took a first-place award in the WisDOT Excellence in Highway Design competition for the Best Local Program Design.

Project Manager Judy Wilson and Project Engineer Kristofer Olson received the award for OMNNI Associates.

College adds project management degree

Students enrolling in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree-completion program at University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County this fall can now choose coursework with a concentration in project management.

Fall enrollment opens Monday. For information, visit  www.baraboo.uwc.edu/academics/majors-degrees/bachelors/baas.

Mead & Hunt wins ACEC engineering award

Mead & Hunt has earned an American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin’s Engineering Excellence Award for its role on the $10 million roadway reconstruction of U.S. Highway 14 in the village of Cross Plains.

Mead & Hunt enhanced the natural environment using innovative engineering techniques and made safety upgrades.

Miron adds new employees

Miron Construction recently hired two employees for its Milwaukee office. Kevin Koepke joined Miron as a project manager, and Mindy Mangan was hired as a receptionist.

Miron also recently hired four employees at its corporate headquarters. Eric Brandt, Collin Olk and Ryan Wagner joined Miron as project managers. Justin Reckner joined Miron as a technology support specialist.

Nick Carolla has also joined Miron as a project manager in its Middleton office, and Rick Berken has been hired as a project manager in the Green Bay office.

Jack Kilgore has also been hired as a project manager in the Wausau office, and Shane Deiter has been added as a large equipment team leader.

AECOM names Praylo COO

AECOM’s Paul Praylo has been named the company’s chief operating officer of construction services. Praylo will oversee operations across all business units within the department.

Gorman & Co. names new CEO

Gorman & Co. has named Brian Swanton as its new CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2018.

Swanton has served as Gorman & Co.’s Arizona market president for the past eight years. Gary Gorman, the company’s current CEO, will become the firm’s chairman of the Board of Directors as of Jan. 1.

Also on Jan. 1, COO Tom Capp will become the vice chairman of the Board of Directors and will serve as the company’s lead advisor on strategic planning and growth of the firm.

Bray Architects adds new hires

Bray Architects has added the following recent hires:

• Nancy Macek, business manager/human resources manager;
• Kate Egan, architect;
• Joseph Luehring, project team leader;
• Maria Wenzel, project team leader; and
• Nate Considine, project team leader.

David J. Frank Landscape names next generation

David J. Frank, of David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, has assumed the title of CEO/chairman while his son, David R. Frank, has been promoted to president/CFO.

David J. Frank, who founded his business in 1959, said that he has no immediate plans for retirement. David R. Frank, who has been with the company his entire life, has taken over insurance management duties, and is in the process of taking over the banking and credit relationships that the company maintains.

PRA adds Broich

Kevin Broich has joined Plunkett Raysich Architects as a healthcare practice leader and senior associate in its Healthcare Studio.

A 1984 graduate of Iowa State University, Broich has more than three decades of experience in 
health care architecture.

Learn to pitch to investors

Learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” of pitching to investors by watching a panel of seasoned investors critique an early stage company presentation during the Thursday, April 13, meeting of the Tech Council Innovation Network in Green Bay.

The luncheon is in partnership with the Forum for Innovation, which will focus on high-growth companies in the region, and NEW North, the regional economic development group. It will be held at Lindquist Machine Corp., 610 Baeten Road, Green Bay. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch is at noon and the presentation is at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for individual members and students, $20 for general admission and included for Tech Council corporate members.

The presenting entrepreneur is Dave Franke, founder and president of Four Points Products, which has developed a series of building products for use in residential and commercial construction.

For more information, call 608-442-7557.

Madisen Maher earns 3 ASID awards

Madisen Maher Architects recently won three bronze awards from the American Society of Interior Designers-Wisconsin chapter for the following projects:

• Historic Beam House;
• Sendik’s Food Market’s corporate office; and
• Siepmann Realty Corp.-Hexagon Inc.

Firms win ACEC Grand Award

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin recently presented the 2017 Engineering Excellence Grand Award to Donohue & Associates, Centrisys Corp. and the Kenosha Water Utility for Kenosha WWTP: Energy Optimized Resource Recovery.

The Grand Award was presented to the project team during American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin Awards Banquet on March 24, 2017.

KJWW Engineering changes name to IMEG Corp.

KJWW Engineering Consultants in Madison is now IMEG Corp.

The name change follows a 2015 merger of KJWW and California-based TTG Engineers, at which time IMEG Corp., an engineering consulting firm, was formed. Both firms and their subsidiaries are now doing business as IMEG at their more than 30 locations worldwide.

CH Coakley expands service line

CH Coakley, a provider of commercial moving, warehousing solutions, fulfillment and document management, has announced the addition of CH Coakley Facility Services. The new division will focus on providing systems management (UPS/batteries, HVAC, generator and fire safety) and maintenance programs as well as energy management and equipment procurement. The team will be led by 20-year veteran Pat McIntyre and will be based out of the company’s Milwaukee location.

Terra announces ownership, leadership changes

Terra Engineering and Construction Corp. has announced ownership and leadership changes to ensure the future of the company.

President and CEO Scott Zimmerman said the company will transition from family ownership to employee ownership to reward employees for their hard work building the 45-year-old company.

Terra, known for its underground foundation work, transferred 25 percent ownership of the company to its non-union employees through a new retirement benefit called an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Unionized employees have a pension that will not change.

The 90-employee company with offices in Madison and Milwaukee has grown from a small operation started by Gary Zimmerman Sr. in 1972 to a $40 million firm run by his sons, Scott and Gary Zimmerman.

Tony Arts (executive vice president) and Donna Kopp (chief financial officer) have also both been promoted and will have an ownership stake in the company. Gary Zimmerman moves from vice president to chief operations officer.

Chris Steinke will take the role of operations manager and Mark Rippe will move from safety director to the new position of director of risk management.