Weidert Group bridging old and new media in the New North

Social media has invaded online activities and dramatically changed traditional marketing and publicity. From well-known tactics like blogs, Facebook and YouTube to emerging channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flikr, there are now more avenues to reach targets than ever before. Appleton-based Weidert Group has launched a new Web site that uses new and emerging social media. Weidert’s growing knowledge will provide Wisconsin businesses an opportunity to become introduced to some of the available social media tools, and even begin experimenting with those appropriate for their business goals.

“We’ve added new media tactics as part of our full-service marketing capabilities because of the opportunities they represent for clients to more effectively reach their targets.” says Greg Linnemanstons, president and partner at Weidert Group. “We decided the best way to demonstrate how some of these tools work would be to plunge in ourselves and use them as means of promoting Weidert Group.”

Study to determine possible re-use for NewPage paper mill

The New North Inc. has commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of producing cellulosic ethanol at the former NewPage paper mill in Niagara.

“Advanced biofuels is one of the targeted industry clusters of the New North and the former NewPage mill offers a great opportunity to pursue development in this sector,” says Jerry Murphy, executive director of the New North Inc. “This study will help us make the case to potential biofuel producers that the New North is an ideal location for a cellulosic ethanol facility.”

Jan Hacker, a forestry consultant with St. Paul-based Resource Analytics, will conduct the study. The first stage of the study will focus on taking a regional inventory of available woody biomass currently being underutilized by the timber industry. The second stage of the study will analyze the market competition for pulpwood, and determine the feasibility of using it as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol.

“The New North is home to some of the best schools, most innovative companies, and most ample natural resources in the country,” Murphy says. “Advanced biofuel production is a perfect fit for our region, and this study is a great stepping stone towards expanding the industry in northeast Wisconsin.”

MOVERS

>> Al Bandola has joined Heartland Business Systems of Little Chute/Green Bay as a Senior Account Executive.

>> Wisconsin natives Gerald Mortensen and Dan Shoman are launching Flapjack Creative Inc. in downtown Wausau. Mortensen has worked for large-scale agencies and top-tier brand clients in Chicago, Sydney and New Zealand. Shoman has spent the last ten years in executive-level positions for a multi-million dollar entertainment organization and consulted for several Fortune 500 companies.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

GREEN BAY: Tweet/Garot Mechanical of Green Bay has attained the safety milestone of 4.5 million safe hours without a lost-time incident. This achievement occurred in January and spans a 6-1/2 year period beginning in June 2002. Tweet/Garot Mechanical is one of Northeast Wisconsin’s largest mechanical contractors, employing approximately 350 people

MANITOWOC: Orion Energy Systems Inc. has been honored with the MIT Club of Wisconsin’s Technology Achievement Award, designed to recognize those who make a major contribution to Wisconsin’s economy through technological advancement. Orion’s technology has been installed in more than 4,300 facilities in North America, including 114 of the Fortune 500 companies, and has resulted in electricity cost savings for its
customers of more than $514 million and a reduction of base and peak load electricity demand by nearly 6.7 billion kilowatt-hours. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the reduced electricity consumption has prevented more than 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

NEENAH: The McMahon Group has announced that its engineering and architectural services firm, McMahon, is celebrating 100 years in business. The firm was founded by A.E. McMahon as a civil engineering firm, based in Menasha in 1909. Today, McMahon has 150 employees, including 120 in the firm’s Town of Menasha corporate headquarters.

WAUSAU: Wilson-Hurd has added a representative office in China to assist the company in its sourcing, project management and communication efforts with its Asian partners. The China liaison will be interacting daily with the company’s suppliers, monitoring the progress of all Wilson-Hurd projects. Wilson-Hurd produces nameplates, labels, POP display components and custom electronic control products for a variety of OEM companies.