Sun Prairie and DeForest Team Up to Host the Dane County Manufacturing & Technology Network (City of Sun Prairie Office of Economic Development)

The City of Sun Prairie and the Village of DeForest have joined forces to create the Dane County Manufacturing and Technology Network. This effort will consist of a monthly networking meeting featuring a speaker on a topic of interest to our manufacturing employers in the region. There is no cost to attend and participate, but an RSVP is generally required.

The staff from each community that is coordinating this effort is Neil Stechschulte, Economic Develoment Coordinator from the City of Sun Prairie, and Greg Frahm, Director of Economic Development and Planning for the Village of DeForest.

"Our communities here on the east side of Dane County certainly have a lot in common in terms of target employment sectors, and it just made sense to work together on this. I'm excited to be coordinating this with Greg, and look forward to growing this initiative over the next year. Our job is to make sure this provides some real value to our participating employers here in our region" said Stechschulte. "We'll be looking for other communities to join in once we get our core group of participants really established."

On Thursday June 24th, a group of about 20 employers from Sun Prairie, DeForest and Madison gathered in DeForest to hear about a variety of financing and funding options for economic development projects. Our presenters were Kate Crowley and Lisa Van Lieshout from Baker Tilly in Madison. Kate and Lisa covered a variety of programs including low-interest financing programs, tax credits and benefits, employee training assistance, and energy efficiency programs. Any persons interested in learning more about the presentation can contact either Kate or Lisa directly at:

Kate Crowley
(608) 240-6718
kate.crowley[at]bakertilly.com

Lisa Van Lieshout
(608) 240-2671
lisa.vanlieshout[at]bakertilly.com

The next meeting is likely to be scheduled for late July and will be in Sun Prairie, and will be announced after the 4th of July holiday.

Additional questions regarding the Dane County Manufacturing and Technology Network can be addressed to either Neil or Greg at:

Neil Stechschulte
(608) 825-0894
nstechschulte[at]cityofsunprairie.com

Greg Frahm
(608) 846-6751
frahmg[at]vi.deforest.wi.us