The Milwaukee Post

14 • Milwaukee County Post • June 27, 2014 BUSINESS Marquette researcher receives $2.6M grant to fund brain studies MILWAUKEE — John Mantsch, profes- sor and chair of biomedical sciences in Marquette University's College of Health Sciences, has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that will fund research on the effects of stress in drug addiction relapse. "Despite decades of research, there is still no FDA-approved medication for the treatment of cocaine addiction," Mantsch said. "This is due in part to fun- damental gaps in understanding neurobi- ological processes that promote drug relapse, which we aim to address." Mantsch's co-principal investigator is Cecilia Hillard, professor and director of the neuroscience research center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, according to a statement. The research is funded over five years, and has three specific aims, which includes studying molecules known as endocannabinoid receptors, in addition to studying the effects of stress on cocaine-seeking behavior and determin- ing how stress can lead to relapse, according to the statement. www.marquette.edu Actuant reports 10 percent increase in 3Q sales MENOMONEE FALLS — Actuant Corp.'s sales increased 10 percent in its third quarter to $378.2 million, compared to $344.2 million during the same time last year. The Menomonee Falls-based industri- al company reported earnings of $50.6 million, or 70 cents a share, up from $46.9 million, or 62 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Earnings per share rose 13 percent, excluding discon- tinued operations, the company said. Actuant completed the acquisition of Hayes Industries, a Sugarland, Texas- based company that makes concrete pre- and post-tensioning products, for $31 mil- lion and completed the sale and lease- back of $41 million of Viking SeaTech mooring assets. The company is now forecasting sales of $350 million to $360 million this quar- ter. www.actuant.com Medline to open facility in county, hire 200 MILWAUKEE — Medline Industries Inc. is opening a manufacturing facility in Waukesha County, bringing an esti- mated 200 jobs to the area. Medline, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, is plan- ning to invest $8 million into the Hartland manufacturing plant, accord- ing to a statement. The Illinois-based company will pro- duce infection control and prevention products at the Hartland facility, which is expected to be fully operational by May 2015. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is providing up to $975,000 in economic development tax credits for the project over the next three years. The actual amount of tax credits is contingent upon the number of jobs cre- ated during that time. www.medline.com NAI MLG Commercial announces recent transactions MILWAUKEE — NAI MLG Commercial, a Milwaukee commercial real estate firm, recently helped Starla Development LLC sell 28,500 square feet at W188-S8393 Mercury Drive, Muskego, to Birch Tree Sirton, LLC. In Milwaukee, Monarch Creative Inc. has leased 2,586 square feet at 309 N. Water St. from Aviva Real Estate Investors LLC. And SB1 Pleasant Prairie WI LLC has sold 26,300 square feet at 19435 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield, to FSD Real Estate LLC, according to a company statement. www.mlgcommercial.com Canine Rentals purchases Grafton building MILWAUKEE — Canine Rentals LLC recently purchased a 63,200-square-foot industrial building at 1964 Wisconsin Ave., Grafton, from Jonathan Goodman. Pete Slezak of Cassidy Turley Barry represented Goodman in the transaction, according to a statement. Tom Didier of Remax United represented Canine Rentals. According to a statement, Canine Rentals, a pet food and supply company, is planning to use part of the space as a warehouse, while retaining the major tenant currently leasing space in the building. The building has been on the market for more than two years and is need of some renovations, which the buyer plans to complete, the statement said. Cassidy Turley is a commercial real estate services provider with more than 4,000 professionals in more than 60 offices nationwide. www.cassidyturley.com Badger Meter partners with Watertech of America BROWN DEER – Badger Meter Inc. and Watertech of America have entered into a partnership that will result in Watertech promoting Badger Meter's flow instrumentation products. Brown Deer-based Badger Meter pro- duces flow measurement products and controls. Greenfield-based Watertech of America is a provider of chemical and equipment expertise for water and waste- water treatment. Both companies are members of The Water Council, which is a group of 150 water technology companies. www.thewatercouncil.com BUSINESS BRIEFS By Alison Fox Conley News Service MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin ranked 37th in private-sector job creation last year, lagging behind the national aver- age, based on numbers released June 18 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This ranking comes after Wisconsin was 36th in 2012 and 35th in 2011. The state added 28,141 private-sector jobs in 2013 for a growth rate of 1.2 percent. The national average was 2.1 percent. The numbers gave Democrat Mary Burke, the likely opponent of Gov. Scott Walker in the fall, a chance to criticize the governor on his jobs record. "Dead last in the Midwest in private sector job creation over the last three years Scott Walker has been Governor is simply unacceptable," Burke said. "Wisconsin has everything we need to be a thriving, top-ten economy but under Walker we're falling behind." Walker's campaign countered that data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Walker's first three years of private-sector job creation nearly dou- bled that of the three years covering Mary Burke's tenure as Gov. Jim Doyle's secretary of commerce. Walker has said voters should rely on the numbers, gathered from a survey of nearly every Wisconsin business, to measure how well he is doing on his sig- nature 2010 campaign promise to add 250,000 private-sector jobs in the state by the end of this year. The governor addressed the issue of job numbers and unemployment last week at the 100-year anniversary of Walsh Products, a Wisconsin-based har- ness and saddle manufacturing company located in Brookfield. "Today, our unemployment rate went down to 5.7 percent," Walker said. "In the beginning of 2010, it was 9.2 percent. Today it's 5.7 and by the end of the sum- mer we hope to be at 5.2 percent." Walker said through the first three years of being in office, the state added over 100,000 new jobs and about 20,000 new businesses. The governor pointed to those job creation numbers, which came after the state lost 133,000 jobs in the sec- ond term of Gov. Jim Doyle, as a sign that his policies are a success. Contact Alison Fox afox@conleynet.com Wisconsin job creation lags behind national average State's growth rate is 1.2 percent, nation's is 2.1 percent

• Cover