The Milwaukee Post

14 • Milwaukee County Post • June 13, 2014 BUSINESS BRIEFS Brain injury rehab center opens MILWAUKEE – The Nexday Brain Injury Rehab Center at Wellspring opened Monday in Milwaukee. The rehab center, which is open due to the collaborative efforts of the Milwaukee Center for Independence and Grace Healthcare, is in Wellspring of Milwaukee at 9350 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. The rehab center has 18 beds in eight private rooms and five semi-private rooms for patients who are recovering from brain injuries. The program will serve patients who have been discharged from the hospi- tal but still need additional medical atten- tion. The rehab center's staff will include doctors, rehabilitation nurses, skilled ther- apists, social workers, recreational thera- pists, and vocational rehabilitation and employment specialists. Milwaukee-based MCFI is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals and families with special needs achieve inde- pendence. www.mcfi.net Joy Global reports drop in profit MILWAUKEE – Joy Global Inc. last week said the company saw its fiscal second- quarter profits drop to $126 million from $279 million in the second quarter of 2013. The Milwaukee-based mining equip- ment manufacturer said orders for its underground mining equipment fell 31 per- cent to $488 million during its fiscal second quarter. Net income fell to $74.0 million, or 73 cents a share, from $181.8 million, or $1.69, a year ago. In addition, net sales dropped 32 percent to $929.7 million from $1.36 billion a year earlier, the company said. www.joyglobal.com Kohl's stores given designation MENOMONEE FALLS – Kohl's Corp. has received green-building certification in 48 of its stores, bringing its grand total to 432 LEED-certified locations. Five of the stores given green designa- tion were in Wisconsin, the company said. Menomonee Falls, Grafton, Kenosha, Muskego and Wausau were awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Building designation. The Menomonee Falls-based retailer said 37 percent of Kohl's 1,160 stores are now LEED-certified. Kohl's LEED-certified stores have features such as Energy Star certification, commitment to green power, waste recycling and participation in green cleaning and sustainable purchasing prac- tices. Kohl's is a specialty department store with locations in 49 states. www.kohlsgreen.com Gidwitz joins 7Summits' board MILWAUKEE – 7Summits, a M i l w a u k e e - b a s e d social business solu- tions provider, announced that Ron Gidwitz, co-founder of GCG Partners and for- mer CEO of the Unilever HPC Helene Curtis business unit, has joined the compa- ny's board of directors. "Ron's substantial leadership experi- ence will prove invaluable to 7Summits as we position the company for the future," said Paul Stillmank, CEO of 7Summits. Gidwitz is currently a member of the board for the Field Museum, Rush University Medical Center, The Museum of Science and Industry and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Additionally, Gidwitz serves as governor and chairman of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and chairman of The New Prosperity Foundation and The Economic Freedom Alliance. 7Summits is still looking to fill an open spot on its boards, according to a statement. www.7summitsagency.com Bank seeks $100K investment MILWAUKEE – North Milwaukee State Bank is asking the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. for a $100,000 invest- ment. North Milwaukee Bancshares Inc., the parent company of North Milwaukee State Bank, is asking the MEDC, a nonprofit business lender, to purchase 20,000 shares of stock, according to a document submit- ted to the agency's Loan & Finance Committee. According to the document, the invest- ment would help boost the bank's equity capital. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation records show that North Milwaukee State bank has assets of about $81 million and earned $10,000 in the first quarter of 2014. In 2013, North Milwaukee State Bank lost $680,000, according to the FDIC. nmsbank.com Johnson Controls opens plant GLENDALE – Johnson Controls Inc. said last week it has opened its new auto- motive battery factory in China, which will produce 6 million batteries per year. The Glendale-based company said it spent $154 million on the 1.4 million- square-foot factory in Chongqing. According to Johnson Controls, the plant will employ more than 500 people when it reaches full production. Johnson Controls entered the Chinese automotive supply market in 2005 when it acquired Delphi's battery business. www.johnsoncontrols.com Wis., 44 states reach settlement MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said recently that he and 44 other attorneys general reached a $105 million settlement with GlaxoSmithKline LLC. The settlement stems from a complaint that alleges GlaxoSmithKline violated state consumer protection laws in its promotion of Advair, an asthma drug, and Paxil, an antidepressant, by misrepresenting the uses and qualities of the drugs. According to a statement, Wisconsin will receive almost $2 million under the set- tlement. The consent judgement, which was submitted Wednesday for the court to consider, requires GlaxoSmithKline to reform its marketing and promotional practices. The state was represented by Assistant Attorney General Phillip D. Ferris, the statement said. www.doj.state.wi.us Sullivan steps down as CEO MILWAUKEE – Gardner Denver Inc. said last week that Tim Sullivan is stepping down as president and CEO of the Milwaukee-based company. Sullivan will be succeeded by Peter Wallace, a current Gardner Denver board member, who will become CEO effective immediately, according to a statement. During his time with the company, Sullivan successfully increased revenue, improved profitability, and built a "deep roster of managerial talent at the compa- ny," the statement said. Wallace has many years of experience as a senior executive in global industrial equipment manufacturing, according to the statement. Gardner Denver is a global manufactur- er of highly engineered products, such as compressors, liquid ring pumps and blow- ers for various industrial, medical, envi- ronmental, transportation and process applications. www.gardnerdenver.com Rockwell to buy back stock MILWAUKEE – Rockwell Automation Inc. last week announced a $1 billion stock repurchase. This is in addition to the authorization the Milwaukee-based company made on June 8, 2012, to repurchase $1 billion worth of common stock, of which approximately $223 million was remaining as of June 3. Rockwell Automation's board also kept its quarterly dividend unchanged at 58 cents. Rockwell Automation supplies systems and software that automate factories and other enterprises to make them more effi- cient, productive and competitive. www.rockwellautomation.com May home sales down 7.7%; listings, inventory up MILWAUKEE – May marked the fifth con- secutive month that existing home sales were behind in the four-county metropolitan Milwaukee real estate market, according to data released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Listing Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. Home sales were behind 7.7 percent in the market, which includes Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha coun- ties. The region sold 1,697 homes in May compared with 1,838 in May 2013. Waukesha County was behind 7.5 percent from the same month a year ago, and Milwaukee County trailed by 5.8 percent. Washington County had the biggest dropoff of the quartet of regions, at 16 percent. Ozaukee County was the lone market with positive numbers, at 1.6 percent. Despite a slower market, the GMAR said it is not hearing any concern from area bro- kers. In a statement from GMAR President Mike Ruzicka, the agency is "very confident that, while a little slower than last year, the market is on solid economic ground with unemployment at 6.1 percent and agents staying very busy helping sellers and prospective buyers. We are receiving several reports of multiple offers on properties." Listings placed on the market increased by 2.6 percent in May, the fourth straight month of growth. Waukesha Couny had eight fewer listings than a year ago. Ozaukee County had more than 12 percent more list- ings, Milwaukee County 3.4 percent and Washington County 2.8 percent. The inventory level for May stood at 8.0 months, slightly above April's 7.5-month level. However, the GMAR said if the 2,194 listings with an active offer are subtracted from released listings of 10,141, the invento- ry level drops to 5.6 months. That's an improvement from the 5.2 months in April, but still a sign of market tightness, the GMAR said. – Dwayne Butler Post Editor Gidwitz

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