Accelerate Magazine October 2020

COVER STORY expansion will both contribute to an increased employee count. While not every manufacturer is experiencing growth at the same pace as Sussex IM, trends suggest that momentum may be moving in the right direction. WMEP’s August survey was the third in a series and tracking the change in responses from April to August shows some improvement. In April, only six percent of manufacturers said their business was “up greatly” from their normal state of business that time of year. By August, that number had risen to 13 percent. While 37 percent of manufacturers said their business was “down greatly” for the normal time of year back in April, the number dropped to 31 percent in May and 22 percent in August. Similar trends appeared when WMEP asked about backlogs, which are critical in manufacturing. In April, only 16 percent of manufacturers said their backlogs had increased, but by August the number increased to 36 percent. “However, despite signs that business conditions are improving, it’s important to understand that some manufacturers continue to struggle as a result of difficult economic conditions,” said George Bureau, vice president of consulting at WMEP. When looking at general business outlook, WMEP reports that 69 percent of manufacturers in August characterized the business outlook for their organization as “somewhat positive” or “very positive.”That number is up from 52 percent in May and 41 percent in April. Conversely – the number of companies characterizing their business outlook as “somewhat or very negative” has dropped from April through August. One Waukesha County company with in growth mode is The Marek Group – a turnkey marketing execution company – which was just awarded several enterprise contracts. One in particular, a contract with the Tel Aviv- based software company Mixtiles, has produced the opportunity for a mass hire of both full-time and seasonal positions to begin work in November 2020, as the company has announced the opening of 200+ positions in Wisconsin. Beginning in October, Mixtiles will rely on The Marek Group as a primary manufacturer and distributor of Mixtile products in North America, resulting in The Marek Group’s immediate need for 20 full-time employees and as many as 200 seasonal employees in the fourth quarter. Fuzzy Marek, CEO of The Marek Group, said he’s proud to see that business innovation efforts over the past decade are yielding the growth results they projected. “For our organization to have realized such growth during a global pandemic where our industry has seen revenue decreases of up to 40 percent is a testament to our amazing team and the transformative services they bring to our clients every day. To be in a position to continue investing in our company allows us to evolve and drive greater value for our clients in the years to come.” The Marek Group is also an example of a local manufacturer who rapidly ramped up production of COVID-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE) following critical shortages around the country. The Marek Group pivoted manufacturing to produce Aerial rendering of the new Eaton facility located on Badger Drive in Waukesha. Breaking ground for the newMacromatic Industrial Controls facility in Waukesha. (July 2020)