FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Scott Isabella, Colectivo Coffee; Milwaukee Tool putting $42M into Menomonee Falls expansion

September 5, 2025

Subscriber note: The WisBusiness podcast is now on a new schedule, with episodes coming every other week. Regular weekly shows will return later this fall. Thanks for subscribing!

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Scott Isabella, president and CEO of Colectivo Coffee.

The coffee business, which launched in 1993, grew across Milwaukee before expanding to Madison and Chicago in the mid-2010s.

“Think early 90s, 1993, you know, the coffee scene back then looked a lot different than it does now, where you can kind of go to any city in America, even if it’s a tier two or tier three city, and find great coffee,” he said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case in the early 90s, and so they started around this passion of delivering a better cup of coffee.”

Isabella, 35, discusses the company’s evolution over time and its current business model, which relies on suppliers in Indonesia as well as parts of Central and South America and Mexico.

“We’re sourcing from all the major regions, and kind of having that direct farmer relationship has been a part of our company since the 90s,” he said. “Some of our co-op relationships go back 20 plus years.”

He also weighs in on international trade impacts on the industry, amid concerns about tariffs leading to higher coffee prices. Isabella notes coffee prices were already on the rise “way before the tariff conversations,” and the new uncertainty around U.S. trade policy has led to even greater volatility.

“You get to a place with the consumer where you say, it’s either I’m going to eat some of my cost with the margins, which you see a lot of businesses doing that, or I’m going to pass it all on … we’ve taken the approach of, we don’t know where coffee is going to be in six months or a year from now,” he said. “And we need to do right by the customers, and so we’re taking a lot of this margin hit in the short-term.”

Isabella highlights some of the factors playing a role in earlier price increases, ranging from climate change to labor shortages and harvest trends. But he notes the picture is complex.

“I don’t think it’s an easy answer … I would hesitate to trust anyone who says they know exactly what’s going on,” he said.

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

— Milwaukee Tool plans to put $42 million into expanding its Menomonee Falls presence, adding about 300 new jobs over the coming years, state officials announced.

Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC yesterday said the agency is providing up to $4.5 million in performance-based Enterprise Zone tax credits for the project. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. has now authorized more than $75 million in tax credits under the program for Milwaukee Tool since 2016, according to the announcement.

Since then, the Brookfield-based business has spent more than $420 million in capital expenditures and expanded its workforce in the state from 900 to more than 4,000.

“Milwaukee Tool is a Wisconsin success story and an economic powerhouse for the Milwaukee region and the entire state,” WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said in a statement. “We are pleased to be able to assist the company as it continues to grow in Wisconsin by leaps and bounds.”

Milwaukee Tool last year announced it had purchased a 22-acre lot in Menomonee Falls, where the expansion project will be located. Chief Financial Officer Christine Delisle said the company appreciate’s WEDC’s support for the effort.

“This investment isn’t just about adding jobs — it’s about strengthening our ability to innovate, grow, and lead from right here in Wisconsin,” she said.

See the release.

— Wisconsin is joining the U.S. Climate Alliance’s Affordable Clean Cars Coalition, Gov. Tony Evers announced.

After 11 states first launched the coalition in May, Wisconsin and Hawaii are now joining it as well, contributing to an effort aimed at “sustaining America’s transition to cleaner and more affordable cars” while supporting U.S. auto makers and workers and improving air quality.

Participating states are working on ways to make cleaner vehicles more affordable and accessible, by reducing cost-related barriers, expanding options for consumers and building more charging and fueling infrastructure, according to the guv’s office.

States in the coalition are also agreeing to: continue making progress toward existing clean vehicle programs; explore new ways to reduce vehicle pollution, such as boosting access to low-carbon fuels; engage with all stakeholders including manufacturers, utilities, unions and others; share solutions across state lines; and more.

“We need to make it easier, not harder, for consumers to upgrade to electric vehicles — and that’s exactly what we’re doing through this state-led partnership,” Evers said in a statement.

Evers has been part of the U.S. Climate Alliance since 2019, and was appointed co-chair earlier this year, the release shows. This group of 24 governors represents nearly 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the national population. It was formed in 2017 by governors committing to implementing tenets of the global climate accord called the Paris Agreement.

To support the goals of the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition, the organization will be providing resources to help states “tackle vehicle pollution and lower barriers” for consumers to use more environmentally friendly vehicles.

See the release.

— The Water Council is taking applications for its fall 2025 Tech Challenge through Oct. 10, the Milwaukee organization announced.

It’s looking for technologies meant to improve water quality management within water systems and related decision-making processes. Katie Kollhoff Mouat, the director of innovation programs for the group, says this fall’s challenge has a broader focus than usual.

“We want to cast a wider net to expose our industry partners to innovative solutions that we might not catch in a more targeted challenge,” she said in a statement.

Applications are open to researchers, entrepreneurs, startups, established companies and others with a new solution within the focus area. The competition has a $10,000 prize and also helps participants connect with water technology companies.

Since launching the program in 2019, the Water Council has awarded $240,000 to 24 competitors from 11 countries.

See the release and listen to a podcast from earlier this year with Kollhoff Mouat.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— An Assembly committee has asked the Department of Health Services to drop from proposed rule language changes that would replace the phrases “mother” and “woman” with “member” and “father” with “other parent.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, saying he has “no business” running the agency. But U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson defended him.

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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