Thermal Spray Technologies Teams Up With UW to Improve Jet Engines (Sun Prairie Star)

Collaborating with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), Thermal Spray Technologies (TST) has played a key role in the development of innovative thermal spray coatings to improve heat protection and fuel efficiency in the next generation of jet turbine engines.

The team’s experimental results were published in the August issue of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technologies (JTST) in an article titled “Application of Plasma Spraying as a Precursor in the Synthesis of Oxidation Resistant Coatings.”

Turbine blades in aircraft engines are subjected to extremely high temperatures. Thermal spray coatings are used to combat these high temperatures and to protect the underlying turbine blade.

 

Read the full article: http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/news/business/article_6c5259f2-1564-11e3-b8fe-0019bb30f31a.html

 

Blogger's Note: TST and UW have a great history of working together, and are a great example of how much economic potential there is in commercializing research out of UW.  On Wisconsin!

City of Sun Prairie Hosts Wind Power Happy Hour Reunion (City of Sun Prairie)

It was a small group for our first meeting in over a year, but there was some great discussion as usual.  Highlight of the evening was a chance to meet Tyler Huebner, the new Executive Director from RENEW Wisconsin.  What was clear right from the start was that Tyler shares the idea that there is considerable opportunity for local economic development and renewable energy.  We have engineering and advanced manufacturing companies right here in Sun Prairie that do considerable work with clients in a variety of energy and power producing markets. 

As if to further demonstrate the importance of the private sector in renewables, Tyler invited me to attend a small group meeting at the Wisconsin Energy Institute with former UW Madison graduate Tom Werner, who is now the CEO of SunPower out in California.  Tom confirmed the competitiveness of U.S. R&D capabilities and discussed some of the newer technologies and policies that are changing how feasible solar energy can be. 

Some additional resources you might be interested in:

Sun Power Corporation Website: http://us.sunpowercorp.com/

Bio on Tom Werner from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-werner-1/

Wisconsin Energy Institute: http://energy.wisc.edu/

UW grad and SunPower CEO Tom Werner touts solar industry growth (Capital Times):
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/uw-grad-and-sunpower-ceo-tom-werner-touts-solar-industry/article_25121eec-1668-11e3-81d0-001a4bcf887a.html

Blogger's Note: Thanks to Tyler and RENEW for meeting with us, and for the invitation to hear Tom speak on campus.  Looking forward to working together to engage more companies like SunPower.

Royle Printing Provides Printing Sponsorship for UW's Curb Magazine (UW-Madison News)

Curb Magazine Examines the Unexpected Side of Wisconsin

Link to Full Article: http://www.news.wisc.edu/20182

Link to Curb Magazine: http://curbonline.com/

Link to Royle Printing: http://www.royle.com/

Blogger's Note: Just one of many examples of how our local economy is linked to UW-Madison.

Results of First Business' Economic Survey of Dane County for 2011 Released (First Business)

Results of First Business' Economic Survey of Dane County for 2011 Released

Link to Downloadable Survey Results From First Business: http://www.firstbusiness.com/data/temp/DANE_Report_ver6.docx

Blogger's Note:  My take on this is that there are both opportunities and issues in our current local economy.  There will be media outlets that will present this as the glass is half-empty. I strongly suggest you read the actual survey results, and then decide for yourself what the outlook for 2012 is. Personally, I remain very optimistic about potential facility expansion and employment growth for several local Sun Prairie companies.

UPDATE: See what I mean about media outlets...

Survey finds local business optimism; Economy still not reaching pre-recession numbers (Sun Prairie Star)

Link to Full Article: http://www.sunprairiestaronline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=50&ArticleID=9127&TM=58001.07

Survey: County business execs not optimistic about 2012 (Madison.com)

Link to Full Article: http://host.madison.com/wsj/business/survey-county-business-execs-not-optimistic-about/article_c53612f6-2066-11e1-843d-0019bb2963f4.html

Blogger's Note #2: Yes...both of these articles refer to the same survey and the same data.  Be mindful of the source whenever you're reading data like this.

UW Office of Corporate Relations is Topic of May 24 Sun Prairie Chamber Luncheon - Managing Director Charles Hoslet Presenting (Sun Prairie Star)

Office of Corporate Relations is Topic of May 24 Sun Prairie Chamber Luncheon

Link to Full Article: http://www.sunprairiestaronline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=50&ArticleID=7444

Click here for more information on the UW Office of Corporate Relations.

UPDATE: Hoslet outlines services available at UW's Office of Corporate Relations

Link to Full Article: >http://www.sunprairiestar.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=50&ArticleID=7583&TM=76898.04

Wisconsin Food Gift Co. Engaged UW Nicholas Center for Financial Advice (UW School of Business Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance)

Wisconsin Food Gift Company was experiencing financial distress due to the economic downturn, a poorly timed expansion combined with declining sales, high fixed costs and leverage. However, the company has attractive gross margins and significant production capacity with which to rebuild its operations. Therefore, the turnaround management team decided to pursue key acquisitions in order to exploit the capacity of its main facility and restore profitability.

Wisconsin Food Gift Company engaged a Nicholas Center team to identify these key acquisition targets in the cheese, chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, nuts, and spices industries. After touring the facility and, of course, trying samples of different cheese and chocolate products, the team set out to understand the main drivers that put the company in financial distress and what needed to be done in order to improve the state of the company. Based upon this information and in-depth market analysis, the team determined a set of criteria and put together a list of ideal target acquisitions.

While the team worked with Wisconsin Food Gift Company, the financial condition changed significantly, and they filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have started the liquidation process. The team’s work will be passed along to the main buyer of the company. The learning experience for the project was immense, as the team got to see what happens first hand with a company that’s in financial distress. From understanding key relationships with suppliers, customers, creditors, and government to different strategies companies can choose, to the bankruptcy and liquidation processes. Being able to observe a company in good times is a learning experience, however, working with a company in financial distress and understanding what went wrong and attempting to fix it was an invaluable experience.

Click here for more information on the Nicholas Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

Blogger's Note: Thanks to the team that worked on this project. We hope the information you provided will help land a new user in the building vacated by the Wisconsin Cheeseman.