Store a natural fit for couple
Their passion, need for natural foods led to opening of The Free Market

By Amanda Lauer
alauer@thebusinessnewsonline.com

When you have a passion for something and you can turn that passion into a business, it makes for a rewarding career. That’s exactly what Wisconsin Rapids natives Kevin Hamm and his wife Cindy Weinfurter have done.
The couple co-owns The Free Market, a natural food store at 1000 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton. Hamm said he’s always been environmentally focused but his moment of awakening occurred when he was a sophomore in high school and attended an environmental camp in Rhinelander called Trees for Tomorrow.
Around the same age, Weinfurter was introduced to the concept of natural food. “I loved going to a co-op when I was in high school — that was back in the hippy days,” Weinfurter said. “I always had digestive issues. I had surgery when I was 25, and I came out of surgery allergic to all hair products and all skin products.”
The number of things Weinfurter was sensitive to increased through the years, and trying to deal with her own health issues led her to the natural food industry.  More       

No cap on its success
Popular Stormy Kromer head gear had its beginning in Kaukauna

By Harry Maier
hmaier@thebusinessnewsonline.com

The Stormy Kromer cap has been a popular head gear for 75 years, and projections show that its popularity or sales aren’t slowing down.
Bob Jacquart, president and CEO of the Stormy Kromer Co., Ironwood, Mich., said he is gearing up the company to increase sales by a projected 40 percent this year.
The Stormy Kromer Co. has a long history, dating to 1903 when it was founded in Kaukauna by Stormy Kromer, a railroader. He is credited with making the first all-wool Stormy Kromer cap with ear flaps “and from there it just blossomed,” Jacquart said.
From its start in Kaukauna, the company moved to Milwaukee in the 1930s and then Columbus, Wis., in the 1970s. By then, it had become popular as winter wear for those working or frequenting the Wisconsin northwoods.
However, when sales fell off, the company closed in 2000, and that’s when Jacquart stepped in and bought the Stormy Kromer name.
“The hats never wear out,” he said, “and if you have a Stormy Kromer cap, you wear it a lot.”
Jacquart decided to add the Stormy Kromer name to the back of every hat sold, including an article on the history of the company.
Every hat also has an identifying serial number, allowing customers to register their cap for a no-charge insurance policy.
Shortly after buying the company and moving production to Ironwood, Jacquart engaged in a major branding effort, and by 2001 sales had topped the best previous year, which was 1995. More     

People who make a difference
Neufelder enjoys seeing the impact of volunteering

By Betty Wall
bwall@thebusinessnewsonline.com

Dan Neufelder, senior vice president of hospital operations for Ministry Health Care, and president of Affinity Health System, feels called to serve others. “I think it is what we are called to do,” he said.
“I think the purpose of life is to be of help to others,” Neufelder said. “All of us have different skills, talents and abilities, so we have opportunities to volunteer in different ways. I do it because I feel that it is what we are supposed to do. I’ve been a very active volunteer throughout my career, which is more than 30 years now.”
He said you never know how someone in your life will impact your future. “I had a teacher when I was in Junior High School who told me, ‘You’re going to be a great community leader,’ and it made me think about things from a very different perspective. It’s always interesting, the impact that people have on one another.”
Neufelder is a board member for the United Way Fox Cities and served as campaign co-chair for the past two years. He is currently a campaign volunteer. He said the United Way Fox Cities had a record year last year, raising over $7 million. More       

Growth Strategies
Expansion fits the mold for EVCO

EVCO Plastics manufactures plastic moldings for companies as close by as the Fox Valley  as well as in 22 countries around the world.
The company, which specializes in thermoplastic injection molding, is rooted in technology, and its approach is working.
The company, which has five molding facilities in the U.S., three in Mexico and one in China, counts Oshkosh, among its operations.
In Oshkosh, EVCO Plastics’ 60 employees primarily focus on large product work for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). And while 2009 was a down year in regard to growth, the company has enjoyed steady growth the past two years both in customer base and product orders — about 15 percent growth in 2010 and 2011. It is on target to continue that pace this year, and Scott Doleshaw, corporate manufacturing manager, sees that continuing the next several years.
The growth has prompted EVCO Plastics to expand its manufacturing facility in Oshkosh. The company was established on Bowen Street in Oshkosh in 1976. It moved into a new building in an Oshkosh industrial park in 2003, a move prompted by the growing needs of the company's Fox Valley customer base.
Last fall, EVCO Plastics broke ground on a 30,000 square-foot expansion to its existing 70,000 square-foot building, a move intended to add warehouse and inventory space initially and manufacturing space long-term. The building can accommodate increased capacity in press sizes and houses the company's largest machine, a 3,300-ton press that's used for large agricultural products and outboard marine products. More       

The List
Area hospitals with most beds  More