Two OPE industry executives to lead Wisconsin business association
States that address the nationwide skilled worker shortage will have a tremendous competitive advantage over states that don’t, which is why the new chair of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) has made tackling that issue his top priority.
Todd J. Teske, chairman, president and CEO of Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corporation, was officially installed as WMC chair during the 101-year-old business group’s board meeting on Jan. 20. He replaces Thomas J. Howatt, chairman of Wausau Paper. At the same meeting, the WMC Board elected Daniel T. Ariens, president and CEO of Brillion-based Ariens Company, as vice chair.
In brief remarks to the WMC Board, Teske outlined his priorities for his two-year term.
“Manufacturing has been, and continues to be the core of family-supporting middle-class jobs in Wisconsin,” Teske said. “But those jobs are threatened by a number of factors, including a shortage of skilled industrial workers to fill existing and expected job vacancies.”
Teske said if left unaddressed, the worker shortage will become a crisis for manufacturers, and ultimately for Wisconsin’s economy. “Manufacturing is our state’s number one business sector. It is also a foundational economic sector because it doesn’t just create jobs in factories. It also creates jobs in banks and retail stores, restaurants and hotels, local governments and hospitals. If Wisconsin doesn’t develop or attract the skilled workers needed for today’s advanced manufacturing, companies will be forced to look elsewhere.”
Defending the remarkable progress made during 2011 to improve Wisconsin’s business climate is another priority for Teske. He specifically singled out the manufacturers’ tax credit for recognition, which will begin a three-year phase-in in 2013. “One thing everyone in our state should be able to agree on is the need for more good jobs that support families, create opportunities, and make communities strong.”
For more information about the WMC, visit www.wmc.org.
