Community leaders, employers, and employees have long expressed concerns over the perceived inventory and affordability of housing in Washington County. Recently Washington County retained EDWC to conduct a comprehensive study on housing. Washington County Housing Availability & Affordability Key Findings Through that study, we identified several key findings regarding housing affordability for the workforce [...]
For 32 years, Dawn and Art Hahn led and grew Slinger, WI-base Weld-Fab Manufacturing into a thriving business. In a win for the Hahns, the Washington County community and the employees of Weld-Fab, they recently sold their business to fellow locals with extensive roots in manufacturing. With the help of financing from EDWC’s Impact Loan [...]
It is always a good day when we help close a deal that leads to the realization of a business owner's dream. In a year that was full of challenges, it was doubly special in late 2021 to help Housewares Distributors, Inc. (HDI) secure the financing necessary to fuel their expansion plans. Getting the Deal [...]
The development of downtown Hartford, Wisconsin got a major boost this past December as EDWC joined forces with Forte Bank, HADC and the City of Hartford, and Washington County to help finance plans for Brewed Omen Tasting Room. The new gathering spot, set to open Memorial Day weekend in 2022, will be located in [...]
As a child, Dr. Emma Dodge, DDS was a patient of long-time Hartford dentist, Dr. Scheunemann. She was greatly influenced by Dr. Scheunemann and even declared to him that she intended to become a dentist. Dr. Emma made good on that prediction and along with her husband, Dr. Ryan Dodge, DDS purchased Dr. Scheunemann’s [...]
The national “war for talent” begins here. On Thursday, October 7th, Washington County will unveil a unique cloud-based, interactive report that graphically captures the how and why both rental and owner-occupied housing is one of your company’s top barriers to recruiting and retaining workers. Next Generation Housing Event with County Executive, Josh Schoemann EDWC’s [...]
It seems as if every billboard and building is advertising hiring bonuses in an effort to attract a limited labor pool. As labor supply issues continue, many organizations have increased starting pay. We currently see this within many Washington County organizations. Without addressing those compression issues through wage market-level adjustments, the practice of hiring [...]
Last fall we looked at the rising number of online job postings, the increase in remote work opportunities and the decline of the unemployment rate in Wisconsin from 6.3% in August to 5.4% in October. Well, the unemployment rate for the state of Wisconsin has now declined to 3.9%, without the labor participation rate [...]
Inflationary pressures make this question more than a “gut check.” Rising supply chain costs – if you can even find the inputs you require – are all too real. Vendors are tightening payment standards; interest rates are on the move upward; and federal stimulus is only making matters more frenzied. So, if your company was [...]
“Wow, you don’t know what you don’t know!” commented one CFO after we just fleshed out how select incentives could accelerate CapEx he had planned. My response, “But, now you do.” Here are five steps you can take to remove complexity and navigate to an effective package. Step 1 – Shift Your Thinking Savvy [...]
