City of Sun Prairie Represented at In Business Extreme Networking Event (IBMadison.com)

(Photo from In Business Magazine)

 

More than 350 people attended In Business magazine's 12th annual Extreme Networking Event on Sept. 10 at the Wisconsin Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing. The annual reception honors the area's most influential business and community leaders.

Blogger's Note: It was a great event to get caught up with several Madison area business partners, but was also to great opportunity to recognize the men and women of our National Guard and the impact they have our community both in terms of protecting our security and being an active part of our local economy.  Thanks to In Business for the invitation.

Sun Prairie Companies Among Dane County's Largest Employers for 2013 (In Business Madison)





Just a quick note to acknowledge those Sun Prairie employers who made the Largest 100 Employers of Dane County list for 2013 and their contributions to our local and regional economy.  The following employers are headquartered in Sun Prairie, or maintain a primary location here:

 

#13 - QBE North America (www.qbena.com)

#55 - Frontier Communications (www.frontier.com)

#64 - Kobussen Trailways Buses (www.kobussen.com)

#98 - Royle Printing (www.royle.com)

 

The following companies have multiple locations throughout Dane County, inlcuding Sun Prairie:

 

#2 - UW Hospital & Clinics (www.uwhealth.org)

#3 - American Family Insurance (www.amfam.com)

#4 - Dean Health System (www.deancare.com)

#11 - St. Mary's Hospital (www.stmarysmadison.com)

#36 - Madison Kipp Corporation (www.madison-kipp.com)

#45 - UW Credit Union (www.uwcu.org)

#51 - Summit Credit Union (www.summitcreditunion.com)

#65 - Associated Bank (www.associatedbank.com)

 

Pick up a copy of the September 2013 issue of In Business Madison for the full listing, or check them out online at www.ibmadison.com.

 

Blogger's Note: Thanks to all these great employers for being a part of Sun Prairie!

 

Fire Facilities Inc. Featured in "Made in Dane" Article (IBMadison.com)

While Dane County does not come close to the sheer density of manufacturing in the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha corridor, the area around Waukesha, or the Green Bay-Fox Valley area, the resiliency of the Dane County manufacturing sector was demonstrated during the 2008-09 recession. 

To help demonstrate this, In Business Madison featured 25 examples of Dane County's manufacturing muscle, including Sun Prairie's own Fire Facilities, Inc.  At #9, it states:

 

"Training is vital for effective, safe firefighting. From mobile units to high-rise towers, Fire Facilities, a subsidiary of Trachte Building Systems, manufactures pre-engineered steel fire training towers, but they are not just burn and churn. Each tower contains at least one live burn room, lined with the Westec Insulation System, to allow for repeated fires at high temperatures. Though their towers can be spotted all across the U.S., the business is located in Sun Prairie."

Click here to read the full article: http://www.ibmadison.com/In-Business-Madison/April-2013/Made-in-Dane-25-Surprising-Products-Made-Right-Here/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc

Blogger's Note: Fire Facilities creates a very unique product, and is just one example of some great manufacturing businesses in Sun Prairie.  Congratulations to Fire Facilities Inc. on making In Business Madison's "Made in Dane" list!

Sun Prairie's Tony Rodriguez Featured as Professional of the Week (IBMadison.com)

Professional of the Week – November 29, 2011 - Tony Rodriguez, Mad City Ads LLC

Phone: 608-561-1690
Email: tony@madcityads.com
Website: http://www.madcityads.com
Birthplace: Chicago
Spouse/Partner: Anne
Organizations: Sun Prairie Optimists, Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Social Media Breakfast Madison
Education: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, B.A. in sociology, 1997

How long have you been at MadCityAds, and how would you describe your role?
I started my company in 1997 as ABC Web Designs and have been providing freelance Web design services to my clients for 14 years. In 2002, I changed my company name to MadCityAds and in 2009 I formed MadCityAds, LLC. I provide Web design, development, and social media consulting services. I pride myself on the relationships I build with my customers and on providing an excellent product for a competitive price.

Who would you most like to be a mentor to, or have the most influence on?
I would love to be a mentor to one or several troubled youths who have an interest in a career in Internet development. Oddly, I have the opportunity to work with this population through the Prairie Phoenix Academy in Sun Prairie and am looking forward to working with the students there.

What was a personal high point in your career?
What started out as a low point for me after a job loss in 2009 turned into the best year for my business and my personal life. Being 100% freelance was a leap I did not make voluntarily, but once I made the leap, I really learned to love it.

Do you have any long-range goals that you’d like to achieve before leaving your company?
I feel I am well on my way to my goal of being seen as a thought leader in the Madison market in the area of social media.

What do you read to help keep you current in your field or industry? What trade associations or training do you belong to that you feel are a good referral?
I subscribe to the blogs of Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, and Scott Stratten, and I read Website Magazine each month. I attend and co-manage the Social Media Breakfast Madison group and attend the Social Media Club of Madison as well as High Tech Happy Hour and find all of these groups to be a great resource for both education and networking.

What were your career aspirations when you were in high school?
When I was in high school, I dreamed of being a computer programmer, and upon my arrival at UW-Whitewater, I decided to go another route and studied sociology with the intent of working with troubled teens. When I graduated I worked as a mentor for several teens in the Walworth County area, but also worked as a webmaster for a small Internet service provider. While I still do volunteer work with youth through the Sun Prairie Optimist Club and other avenues, ultimately I still landed in the technology field.

What brought you to Madison?
In 2002 I received a job offer from American TV working in their corporate headquarters on the west side of Madison as part of their Web development team. I remained part of that team for nearly seven years and still stay in contact with my former supervisor and coworkers.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your family?
I am a first-generation American citizen and a first-generation college graduate. I am half Puerto Rican and half Ukrainian.

What do you do outside of the office to relax?
My wife and I love to go camping and to travel to warm weather climates. I have a great interest in all things cinema and consider myself a movie buff.

What is your favorite place to travel to, and why?
So far my favorite vacation spot is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We love the weather, the people, and of course the food. Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful destination with people as warm as the climate, magnificent sunsets, and five-star dining that can't be beat.

What kinds of books do you read for pleasure? What’s a recent title that might give us the flavor of what you like to read?
I enjoy reading any good fiction, but am partial to science fiction and fantasy as well as horror books. I recently read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

Finally, list three words you think best describe you:
Honest, sincere, funny.

Source: http://www.ibmadison.com/professional-of-the-week

Blogger's Note: I copied the full article, as it appears that the linked page will change content.  Congratulations Tony.  Well deserved write up.

In Business Madison Publishes 2011 Construction and Development Roundtable (IBMadison.com)

In Business Magazine Construction & Development Roundtable (2011)

Link to Full Article: http://www.ibmadison.com/commercialdevelopment?id=1097

Blogger's Note: Special thanks to In Business Managing Publisher Jody Glynn Patrick and Editorial Director Joe Vanden Plas for the invitation to participate in this year's Construction and Development Roundtable.  It was a privelege to share the same table with some of the top developers in Madison and Dane County. There was great discussion, and I left thinking that Sun Prairie may be in an even better position than I had previously thought.  At the very least, we seem to have more things going on here, and we sure are more optomistic about what the future holds.  Here's to having some more things for In Business to report on from the Sun Prairie area!

Wisconsin Distributors Featured in May Edition of In Business Magazine

Matt Bottorff, Specialty Brand Representative for Wisconsin Distributors is the subject of this month's Day in the Life feature in In Business Magazine. Appropriately enough, the article is titled "The Beer Salesman."

Wisconsin Distributors is headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and has become the largest Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler in the State of Wisconsin, serving over 4.5 million case equivalents of beer to more than 3,000 accounts. Their 22 acre site has a 151,000 square foot building which can store up to 42 tractor trailers inside and also has a beer cooler that can store 285,000 cases and 7,000 barrels of beer at any given time. Their operations include more than 135 full time employees. They have a 24 hours-per-day warehouse team of 11 individuals that keep all their beer rotated in their cooler and their trucks loaded everyday.

Pick up a copy of the May 2008 In Business Magazine for the full article, or click here to go to the In Business website for additional information.