rnor Scott Walker) and Twitter (@GovWalker) or share with friends: Growing Our Economy: Ashley Furniture and Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. Manufacturing continues to drive job creation in the state, and this week, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of great Wisconsin companies to share some good news. Ashley Furniture held a ribbon cutting for the $13 million expansion of its Midwest Motion Upholstery Facility in Whitehall. The company added 100 new jobs at this location with the 80,000 square-foot addition to its reclining (motion) upholstery production facility. Since January 2012, Ashley Furniture has added about 300 employees in Whitehall and Arcadia. Ashley Furniture is an iconic Wisconsin company and has experienced great success and massive growth in recent years. Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. in De Pere also celebrated an expansion this week, as well as the creation of 25 new jobs. This company provides advanced automation and engineering services to the tissue converting industry, and company owners recently invested $2.25 million to build a 39,000 square foot expansion of the facility there. Infinity worked with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) on this project, and the company is eligible for $175,000 in Economic Development Tax Credits. To earn the tax credits, the company has committed to retaining 51 full-time positions and creating 25 new full-time jobs. We will continue to do our part at the state level to improve the business climate for companies, like Ashley and Infinity, by cutting taxes, streamlining regulations, and investing in worker training. My Blueprint For Prosperity plan returns about $800 million to the people of Wisconsin through income and property tax cuts and adjustments to withholding. It also increases our investment into worker training by $35 million. The State Senate passed the plan March 4th and the bill now goes before the State Assembly, which passed a previous version of the proposed tax cuts in early February. Year of A Better Bottom Line: Mosinee Cold Storage Focuses on Employee Abilities This year, we are focused on recognizing the companies and programs promoting the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. Mosinee Cold Storage works with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and hires people with disabilities to work in its cheese storage and repackaging facility because of the unique abilities they bring to the workplace. During my time as Governor, I have met many people with unique abilities, who tell me how much they enjoy having a job and the independence, social interaction, pride, and self-worth employment brings. I declared this the Year of A Better Bottom Line to demonstrate how valuable these workers are to employers. Many of them tell me their workers with unique abilities are among the most dedicated and reliable employees they have. The DVR provides counseling and guidance, on-the-job training, trial work, transportation, and work incentive planning to more than 17,000 job seekers with disabilities. Some people who really want to work, had to be put on a waiting list for these services, so last year, I signed legislation increasing the number of those served by the DVR by 6,000 to allow the state to reduce or eliminate waiting lists. Three programs at the DVR in particular connect high school students with disabilities with the resources they need: Youth on the Job Training, Project SEARCH, and Let’s Get to Work. Youth on the Job Training reimburses employers through the DVR for 100 percent of the costs associated with training a youth. Project SEARCH is a 9-12 month program for students with disabilities in their last year of high school, that provides career exploration and work experience. Let’s Get to Work is a partnership between the DVR, the Department of Health Services, the Department of Public Instruction, and the Board for People with Developmental Disabilities to implement Let’s Get to Work grants in nine school districts around the state. Under my Blueprint for Prosperity, we will expand Project SEARCH, and increase the number of participating businesses by 20, from seven, over the next three years. Every person who wants to work, should be able to work, and enjoy the freedom, independence, and sense of pride that comes with doing a good job. Green Bay Packers Partner with Edvest The Green Bay Packers and Edvest announced this week they are sponsoring the “Big Apple Giveaway” sweepstakes. One lucky student and their family will win a $10,529 Edvest college savings account and a trip to New York City to announce the Green Bay Packers fourth-round draft choice. Parents, grandparents, or the legal guardian can enter their child or grandchild into the contest; children must be between the ages 8–14 years, and there is only one entry per child. Wisconsin schools can also enter to win a $5,529 cash contribution for teaching resources by registering online. All contest entries must be received by April 4, 2014, and the winner will be selected randomly. To learn more about the Big Apple Sweepstakes and the official rules, visit Edvest/bigapple. Edvest is Wisconsin’s 529 College Savings Plan designed to help families save for higher education expenses. -Scott Walker
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:07:47 +0000
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