FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Ron Wanek, Ashley Furniture Industries; Exact Sciences launches initiative offering cancer insights to Mayo Clinic patients

April 5, 2024

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Ron Wanek, founder and chairman of Ashley Furniture Industries.

Wanek is the first inductee since the 1970s to the state’s Manufacturing Hall of Fame, which Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce recently revived to showcase standout leaders of the state’s manufacturing industry. His induction came earlier this year during WMC’s annual Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Awards ceremony in Milwaukee.

“Wisconsin has always been great at manufacturing,” he said on the podcast. “And from my standpoint, I’m really proud to be a manufacturer. From youth, from being a small boy, I always wanted to be a maker, so to speak … and I especially love furniture manufacturing, because it’s gratifying building beautiful furniture and enriching people’s homes.”

After Wanek founded Arcadia Furniture in 1970 in Arcadia, the business later merged with Ashley Furniture Corp. and has since grown to become the world’s largest home furnishings manufacturer, according to WMC.

The global company now employs more than 30,000 people, including 16,000 people in the United States and 3,000 in Wisconsin. The business operates in 155 different countries and has stores in 60 countries.

Wanek shares insights from his decades-long career, discussing how the manufacturing sector has changed over time, the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship, as well as mentors and other influences on his life.

“I was fortunate,” he said. “Having great mentors is one of the greatest blessings one can have in his life.”

He also touches on the impact of new technologies on the furniture industry, including AI and automation, as well as the need for more STEM education to support these changes.

“There’s a lot of manual work in manufacturing furniture, a lot of heavy lifting and that sort of thing, and automation has really allowed us to improve that situation … it obviously eliminates repetition and it makes the jobs a lot easier,” he said. “But it does require a different skill set, you know, the engineers, the technology, scheduling — everything that goes with it.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

See more on WMC’s Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

— Exact Sciences has announced a new initiative offering genetic profiling and hereditary cancer testing to Mayo Clinic patients.

Clinicians with the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center will now have access to Madison-based Exact Sciences’ OncoExTra genomic test and its Riskguard hereditary cancer test as they provide care at sites in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida, according to the announcement. These facilities collectively care for more than 130,000 cancer patients each year.

“By combining the strength of Exact Sciences’ portfolio of tests with Mayo Clinic’s world-renowned medical and scientific expertise, we’ll help put cancer patients on a path to potentially more effective, targeted therapies and better outcomes,” Exact Sciences CEO and Chairman Kevin Conroy said in a statement.

While the genetic test creates a “comprehensive molecular picture” of the patient’s cancer based on analysis of DNA and RNA, the hereditary test assesses the patient’s risk of developing cancer based on family history.

Dr. Cheryl Willman, executive director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, says having access to this genetic information “allows us to precisely diagnose the underlying mutations driving a patient’s cancer” and develop a treatment plan designed specifically for that person.

Meanwhile, the sequencing data will also be integrated into large language models and other AI programs to predict cancer risk and find the disease earlier, Willman said in the release.

“Integration of this genomic data into our longitudinal patient healthcare records in Mayo Clinic Cloud and Mayo Clinic Platform, will facilitate not only the care of each individual patient, but the care of all cancer patients now and in the future,” she said.

Yesterday’s announcement comes on the heels of Exact Sciences releasing new data on its esophageal cancer test, which is being studied by researchers with the Mayo Clinic.

See the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed, for a second time, a proposal to create a new license for advanced practice registered nurses.

The guv in his veto message said he objects to new license and practice standards for APRNs that he says don’t provide adequate experience requirements, titling protections, and safeguards for patients.

“Certainly, nurses are critical to the healthcare system in Wisconsin and help fill gaps in access to healthcare services resulting from a lack of healthcare providers generally,” he wrote. “Ensuring we have qualified professionals who have the appropriate education, training, experience, and supervision to provide care to Wisconsinites is critically important.”

He also said he welcomes the opportunity to sign a version of the proposal that addresses his concerns.

GOP Sen. Pat Testin, one of the co-authors, said backers made changes to the version that was vetoed last session trying to address Evers’ concerns.

“Yet, he still made the reckless decision to turn his back on our health care workers and over one million Wisconsinites who live in underserved areas,” the Stevens Point Republican said.

It was Evers’ 189th bill vetoed over the past five years.

See the veto message.

— Republicans have sent a bill aiming to combat PFAS contamination to Gov. Tony Evers amid an ongoing standoff on the issue, starting a weeklong countdown for the guv to take action.

Evers has vowed to veto SB 312 over provisions limiting DNR authority to regulate the forever chemicals, which he has argued would benefit polluters. The Dem guv has instead called for the GOP-run Joint Finance Committee to release the $125 million set aside in the state budget and use it to fund an alternate proposal that eliminates those provisions.

Co-author Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, in a letter to Evers yesterday said the bill had undergone extensive changes, including at DNR’s request.

“However, we have been clear from the beginning that we will not sell out the communities on the front lines of the fight against PFAS by removing protections for victims of pollution,” Wimberger said.

Meanwhile, representatives from 13 groups urged Evers via a letter to veto SB 312, calling it “a bad deal for Wisconsinites.”

“Since Senate Bill 312 does not appropriate any money from the PFAS Trust Fund, and since it would undermine DNR’s ability to address PFAS contamination, we respectfully request you to veto that measure. Simply put, it is a bad deal for Wisconsinites that you should not take,” they wrote.

The groups noted vetoing SB 312 would not prevent JFC from releasing the $125 million set aside to combat contamination.

See more at WisPolitics.

— Madison-based co-working space 100state has launched a capital campaign seeking $50,000 to cover operating expenses and stabilize its finances.

The nonprofit organization, which launched the space in 2013, was “dealt a significant blow” due to challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the campaign website. Due to “dwindling membership and mounting financial pressure,” 100state moved to a new location and founder Joseph Sweeny Dahari reassumed leadership in 2021.

Last year, Executive Director JJ Pagac and his wife, Community and Program Manager Kelly Pagac, took over for Dahari. They began a new effort to connect with the local community through mentorship initiatives, entrepreneurship programs, a bi-annual art gallery showcase and more, resulting in a “significant surge” in membership, the campaign website shows.

JJ Pagac told local publication Madison Startups he and Kelly have been “volunteering tirelessly to keep 100state’s spirit thriving” since that time.

“This capital campaign seeks to recognize the invaluable contributions of the Pagac family by providing a modest salary, while also securing the organization’s financial future,” campaign organizers wrote. “Your support will cover essential expenses, build a rent buffer, and ensure the continued vibrancy of this community pillar.”

Donations range from $25 to $5,000. As of yesterday, 100state had raised nearly $1,500.

See more at Madison Startups.

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