Winners in competition for top minority, woman and veteran-owned businesses to be announced at MARKETPLACE conference Dec. 14

MADISON, WI. Dec. 5, 2016–Eighteen Wisconsin companies have been named finalists for the 2016 MARKETPLACE Governor’s Awards, which honors outstanding Wisconsin businesses owned by minorities, women and service-disabled veterans.

More than 250 nominations were received from Wisconsin businesses of all sizes and industries. Winners will be announced at a luncheon Thursday, Dec. 14, at MARKETPLACE 2016, the governor’s conference on minority business development. The event will be held at the Potawatomi Hotel and Conference Center in Milwaukee.

Small and large businesses are being honored in two categories: the Outstanding Business Award, which recognizes established businesses that have demonstrated the capacity to grow over the past five years and have plans for continued expansion in the future; and the Rising Star Award, which honors businesses established after 2011 that have demonstrated strong growth potential.

Awards are given to state certified minority-owned business enterprises (MBE), woman-owned business enterprises (WBE) and service-disabled veteran businesses (DVB).

The finalists for the Outstanding Large Business Awards for the MBE, WBE or DVB categories are:

  • Allcon LLC of Butler, a general contracting firm specializing in carpentry and electrical disciplines with capabilities to participate in projects from the early planning stage to final job completion. (MBE)
  • Rams Contracting LTD of Lannon, which offers contracting services throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including commercial excavating, GPS-controlled site grading demolition, dump truck services and snow-plowing services. (MBE)
  • Weatherization Services LLC of Milwaukee, a full-service contractor focusing on energy assessment, home energy scoring, insulation, siding, roofing, windows and doors, air sealing, furnaces and other aspects of home energy efficiency. (MBE)
  • Andrea & Orendorff LLP of Kenosha, a full-service accounting firm providing clients with a full suite of small business, services audit and review services, tax planning and preparation, management consulting and on-site CFO services. (WBE)
  • Menzel Enterprises Inc. (DBA Prairie Land Towing) of Sun Prairie, which provides vehicle towing, emergency recovery, local vehicle transport, heavy equipment delivery and vehicle repairs. (WBE)
  • Share Corporation of Milwaukee, a nationwide manufacturer and distributor of more than 600 specialty chemicals and a distributor of hardware and welding supplies. (WBE)

The finalists for the Outstanding Small Business Awards are:

  • M Squared Engineering LLC of Cedarburg, a full-service civil engineering and consulting firm with offices in Wisconsin and Illinois providing civil engineering services to government and private sector clients. (MBE)
  • Moore & Associates Inc. of Kenosha, which provides culturally competent and corrections-based therapy with a full range of care for adults in recovery from substance abuse, chemical addictions and other abusive behaviors. (MBE)
  • Rivera & Associates Inc. of Milwaukee, a full-service public relations and marketing firm offering in-depth multicultural analysis to provide clients a window into their target markets. (MBE)
  • Harkinson Consulting LLC of Middleton, a consulting firm providing comprehensive labor compliance service for highways and aeronautic construction projects. (WBE)
  • Superior Structural Corporation of New Berlin, which fabricates structural steel columns, beams, trusses, mezzanines, catwalks, steel chairs, ornamental and pipe railings, decorative and industrial gates and other customer requested steel fabrications. (WBE)
  • The Geo Group Corporation of Madison, which offers translation, interpreting, desktop publishing, website localization, audio/video production and technical writing services. (WBE)
  • Middleton Construction Consulting LLC of Madison, which provides pre-construction services, including cost estimating, budget preparation, bid review and scheduling and owner representative for commercial and municipal building clients. (DVB)
  • PANACEA Group LLC of Seymour, a veteran-owned business providing general contracting, design build, new construction, renovation/remodeling and quad axle dump truck hauling services. (DVB)

The finalists for the Rising Star Awards are:

  • Fox Valley Communications LLC of Appleton, which provides interpretation, translation and notary services and works collaboratively with other translation agencies to meet the Fox Valley area’s increasing demand for translation services. (MBE)
  • Maldonado and Morgan LLC of Milwaukee, which provides marketing, advertising, animation, branding, illustration, website design and development, video production, SEO/SEM, copywriting and public relation services. (MBE)
  • EFH Trucking LLC of Milwaukee, provides hauling both with company-owned trucks and by utilizing over a dozen subcontracted trucking partners. (WBE)
  • Wisconsin Interstate Contracting LLC of Merrill, which provides erosion and sedimentation control, site stabilization and site restoration services. (WBE)

Award finalists will benefit from recognition at the event and through media promotion.

MARKETPLACE 2016, which takes place Dec. 13-14, is the premier business capacity-building conference of the year for minority, woman and veteran-owned businesses pursuing contracts with state, federal and local agencies as well as corporations.

For more than 35 years, the conference has brought together businesses, agencies and business development resources to create new opportunities for State of Wisconsin certified companies. More than 60 exhibitors, including lenders, business resources, certified agencies and business will be featured in the MARKETPLACE Expo Hall on Dec. 14.

The individual cost is $60 for both days, with a $20 additional fee for the Dec. 13 evening reception. Discounts are available for minority, woman and veteran-owned businesses. Buyers and supplier diversity managers from government agencies and private corporations attending to meet potential suppliers can register at no charge.

Registration and detailed information are available at www.MarketplaceWisconsin.com.

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About the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) leads economic development efforts for the state by advancing and maximizing opportunities in Wisconsin for businesses, communities and people to thrive in a globally competitive environment. Working with more than 600 regional and local partners, WEDC develops and delivers solutions representative of a highly responsive and coordinated economic development network. Visit www.inwisconsin.com or follow WEDC on Twitter @_InWisconsin to learn more.