STATE FOCUS | WISCONSIN
Wisconsin enjoys a diverse range of commercial and industrial activity that powers its GDP $414bn economy.
Scott Klug, president of Fox Cities Crane & Fab, which is located in Appleton at the top end of Lake Winnebago. “We engage with contractors, resellers and end users alike,” he adds. “And, though it sounds trite, as a small business concern, family-owned and operated, each client, whether large or small, is critical.”
Headwinds and tailwinds In 2023, Wisconsin’s real GDP was approximately $414bn, with growth in the core sectors of manufacturing, healthcare, IT and agriculture providing stimulus, and tourism playing a growing part in the state’s economic development. Growth is slow, but steady – around 1.4% from 2022 to 2023, with a similar trajectory in 2024. “It’s the strong manufacturing presence indigenous to Wisconsin, combined with our collective understanding of hard work and the importance of efficiency in execution; the ‘speed of business’ mentality, if you will,” says Klug. “These attributes, ingrained in the marketplace and workforce across the state make Wisconsin a natural choice for folks looking to put down professional roots.”
“Whether new facilities or endeavours, or expansion of existing operations and concerns,
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the growth trend statewide has, in our experience, manifested in a very significant way,” he adds. “We’re ever grateful for the opportunity to contribute to that evolution.” Klug also points out that the state has been
resilient to the many pressures that have affected the US – and the world – in recent years. There is a robust approach to business in the state, which has seen it rise to the challenges that companies in every industry have faced – from balancing the needs of customers with the needs of the business when inputs are becoming more expensive, to competition at home and abroad intensifying and uncertainty becoming an everyday feature of the macro-economic picture. “Volatility in the areas of price and availability
stemming from market instability can make doing business difficult,” he remarks. “For us, steel prices and supply in particular have created challenges along the way. That said, most buyers understand these factors as we move through the 2020s.” “We attribute some of this to Covid-19, which clearly conditioned consumers in many ways,” he adds. “Most folks have become numb to – or perhaps are less surprised by – today’s price increases and supply pressures, all of which would otherwise have been show-stoppers less than a decade ago.”
Indeed, Klug points out that, historically, most of his company’s supply partners only applied price increases perhaps once a year, and these price hikes came on a schedule that was more or less predictable. A rise in costs is easier to manage if you know when it is coming.
“Now, it has become the norm for those
increases to occur multiple times per year, often with little to no notice,” he explains. “Our clients deserve the best service at a good value and on a schedule considerate of their timelines. In 2025, our ability to meet all these goals simultaneously can sometimes be challenged by these external factors.”
What he describes is a familiar predicament for other companies in the crane and hoist sector, and across the manufacturing industries they serve. That said, his company’s attitude to adversity is typical of the industry in which he works. “As a custom crane builder, rather than a kit supplier, we know that each project presents its own unique challenges,” Klug remarks. “The occasion to be part of the solution is both exciting and rewarding for our team. With more than 30 years in the industry, our experience often yields the answer to complex handling problems which might otherwise plague or hamper the end user’s efficiency and execution.
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