A Note from Marty Ochs
The Green Bay Innovation Group was a proud sponsor of the Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit. It was a fantastic gathering of individuals and companies dedicated to advancing manufacturing in Wisconsin, with 700 people attending. The commitment to growth and innovation was inspiring. Wisconsin has the depth of industry, talent, partners, energy, education, and technology to be a World Leader in Manufacturing.
See you Thursday at the golf outing, Swing Big with GBIG!
Sincerely,
Marty Ochs, GBIG Executive Director
| | WISCONSIN DRIVES MANUFACTURING SUMMIT | | Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry came together for a two-day summit on June 1 and 2 at Lambeau Field. The Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit attracted academic and industry leaders who talked about the challenges and opportunities manufacturing companies face today. The UW-Madison Grainger Institute of Engineering organized the event, and Green Bay Innovation Group was a co-sponsor. | | THANKS TO OUR PLATINUN MEMBERS | | |
IDDBA Show 2026
The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association held its show on June 6-9 in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,000 exhibitors representing retailers, suppliers, and manufacturers attended this premier food industry event.
Cassie Diedrick, GBIG Board member and Business Development Director at Titletown Manufacturing, represented GBIG at IDDBA 2026. She spoke with vendors and industry leaders and saw the latest trends in food packaging.
| | |
New North Summit
The New North Summit at Lambeau Field on June 9 brought together regional partners, business leaders, educators, nonprofit organizations, sponsors, volunteers and community leaders for a day focused on the people, partnerships and ideas moving Northeast Wisconsin forward.
The energy and engagement reflected a clear message: the New North is a region on the rise because people continue to show up, lean in and work together around shared goals.
| | SUSTAINABILITY STORIES AND UPDATES | | PACKAGING STORIES AND UPDATES | | PLASTIC STORIES AND UPDATES | | PAPER STORIES AND UPDATES | PRINTING STORIES AND UPDATES | | FOREST STORIES AND UPDATES | | WATER STORIES AND UPDATES | | MEMBER STORIES AND UPDATES | | |
Comercial Banking
Lindsay Meyer, CTP, Vice President - Treasury Management at First Business Bank, partners with manufacturers to improve cash flow, mitigate fraud, increase payment efficiency, and maximize earnings on idle funds. After 20 years in banking, she has learned that the fastest way to help a business or nonprofit is to determine how money moves through the organization.
| | |
Facility Remodel
Alive & Kickin’ Pizza Crust has selected Keller as its Architect and Design/Build partner on a 75,500 sq. ft. interior remodel and freezer/cooler addition project located at 1250 Cornell Road in Howard, Wisconsin. The project will transform an existing paper converting facility into a modern, state-of-the-art food processing plant. Project completion is anticipated in Winter/Spring 2027.
| | |
Insurance Solutions
Jill Fuss is a Vice President of Development at Brown & Brown. She partners with employers across Wisconsin to deliver comprehensive risk management and insurance solutions. Jill works with clients to support both employee benefits and property and casualty needs. She provides transparency, education and thoughtful guidance to every organization she serves.
| | |
Business Consultant
Operational and financial performance are key indicators of success, but improving those metrics can be challenging. One company in the wide-web flexible packaging space had been attempting to improve performance for two years with little measurable change. Partnering with SPL, the company implemented Lean enterprise practices, strategic planning, and behavioral science-backed talent development to transform performance.
| | |
Production Solutions
Following its Jan. 1 merger with Fox Valley-based VPI, VARC, Inc. is expanding its packaging, assembly, and fulfillment operations to better serve manufacturers and distributors across Northeast Wisconsin. VARC is strengthening its ability to deliver flexible, high-quality production solutions while increasing capacity for business partners. VARC serves over 2,500 individuals with varying abilities across 18 locations, including 8 production facilities.
| | |
Workforce Challenges
Access helps manufacturers improve reliability through power, cooling, monitoring, and infrastructure engineering solutions. Seth Heeter, President of Access, attended the Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit. One theme consistently rose to the top: Wisconsin's workforce challenges are real. But so are the opportunities. Artificial intelligence and automation are helping manufacturers accomplish more with the talented people they already have.
| | |
Plastic and Rubber Industry
The plastic and rubber industry continues to face operational pressure from multiple directions. Supply chain instability, rising material costs, stricter environmental requirements, and aging infrastructure are forcing manufacturers to rethink operational reliability. For many facilities, success depends on making improvements that strengthen existing systems and long-term production goals. Quad Plus offers solutions for industrial automation, controls integration, and system modernization.
| | |
The mission statement of the Green Bay Innovation Group is to bring together and create opportunities for networking between Wisconsin companies involved in the Paper, Printing, Pulp, Plastics, Packaging, Converting and Supplier Industries. GBIG creates an open dialog between companies. GBIG webinars, meetings, etc. talk about current and new products, technology, innovation, sales, marketing, social media/web design, new equipment, etc.
GBIG is looking to create new products, new markets and expand the presence of our industries in Wisconsin. We are here to help you push the norm and challenge one another to help make our companies and our communities better.
Finally, we are bringing financial support to our communities, especially to those most in need through the donations from our Sponsors.
| | | | |
