By Brian E. Clark
RISING
Appleton
Time Warner Cable of Milwaukee County will receive more than $1 million
in state tax credits to build a state-of-the-art, 130,000-square foot
Northern Wisconsin Operations Facility. The expansion is expected to
create up to 300 jobs in the Fox Valley.
The Time Warner Cable building in Appleton will include a new technical
operations center, an expanded warehouse, a state-of-the-art training
facility, a full-service production studio, and meeting and conference
room space. Total project cost is estimated at $20 million.
The state money will come from the Commerce Department as Enterprise
Development Zone Tax Credits, which provide tax incentives to new or
expanding businesses whose projects will affect areas with high
unemployment.
That positive news outweighed reports that JMS Converters has closed
its doors, filed for bankruptcy and laid off 85 workers at its Appleton
plant. No bumping rights exist for the affected employees. The company
made disposable paper products for the health care industry.
An attorney for the company said it had lost its major customer and
banks refused to extend any more credit to the financially strapped
firm, which has been targeted recently by court claims from creditors.
MIXED
Midwest Air
Though analysts aren’t expecting the deal to fall through, the TPG
Capital/Northwest $451 million purchase of Midwest Air Group has been
delayed – at least temporarily.
That’s because federal government antitrust regulators have asked for
additional information on the transaction, which involves Northwest
Air, a company that flies into Milwaukee. The U.S. Department of
Justice request put a 30-day waiting period on the completion of the
sale, said Midwest officials, who called the request “routine.”
Milwaukee-based Midwest said it will “respond expeditiously” in order
to have a quick closing of the sale. Midwest said the hitch won’t delay
a special shareholder’s meeting to approve the transaction on Oct. 30.
FALLING
Franklin
Four Franklin-based trucking companies that employ a total of more than
400 people are looking for protection from creditors in a state court
proceeding similar to bankruptcy.
Filing voluntarily for receivership were JDC Logistics Inc., JDC
Leasing Inc., Stars Expedited Delivery LLC and Prolog Services LLC. All
are owned by members of the Lorino family, said the court-appointed
receiver, who noted that the companies have debts of $31 million. He
said the companies will continue to operate with the support of a
secured creditor.
The largest of the companies, JDC Logistics, is a freight hauler
concentrating on the automobile manufacturing industry. It has a long
history of violations of regulations on drivers’ hours and has been
fined more heavily for such rule-breaking than almost any trucking
company in the country.
