20 local jobs offer small step back

By Matthew Ryno / News Republic

The mood was hopeful at the Sauk County Job Center, where about 200 applicants came to a job fair Wednesday for a new Reedsburg-based company.

Wisconsin Specialty Protein will be opening in Reedsburg this March, and it kicked-off its hiring process with a job fair. Call-backs will be starting in weeks for approximately 20 new job openings.

Carol Bride and Jolene Gruber of the Job Center said the center was packed with hopeful applicants who were out of a job, including many former employees of local manufacturing plants that have recently shed jobs.

Tera Johnson, The chief executive of Wisconsin Specialty Protein, was also hopeful that in the midst of hard economic times her business could be an example of how activity is still continuing.

"There is still economic activity going on. My whey business is different, and there are still innovative companies out there developing," she said.

Wisconsin Specialty Protein is in fact very different, and is the first facility in the world to process organic cow, goat, and sheep whey protein concentrates.

General Motors might be seen as a catalyst for manufacturing in Wisconsin, but Johnson said her business' is propelled by farms such as Organic Valley, considered one of the leading brands for organic milk in the country.

And despite a tough economy, the CROPP Cooperative, of which Organic Valley is a member, reports total sales are expected to increase by 22% over 2007, even with slower growth in the fourth quarter.

"It's the biggest organic dairy brand in the country and it has grown to that place through a lot of hard work by a lot of people. We've grown a community of dairy farmers in the state who are unmatched in any place in the country," Johnson said.

Some of that strength may also spread to the local economy, and Karna Hanna, executive director of the Sauk County Development Corporation estimated every job at Wisconsin Specialty Protein has the potential to generate five other jobs, mostly in the agricultural field.

Wisconsin Specialty Protein is an agricultural company, though Johnson said many of the company's job openings are compatible with roles at places such as Grede Foundries. Specific job openings related to the fields of maintenance and plant operations, including a lead plant operator.

"I don't expect that people will have worked in a whey plant before," she said. "We know we're going to train people coming in, and we're looking for people with job experience."

She noted that good applicants will have basic computer skills to handle an automated process and they'll need to be able to multi-task.

"We're not big enough to have one person just dedicated to receiving product and never doing anything else. We're still small," she said. "It's the nature of my business that flexibility is important."

Carol Bride and Jolene Gruber of the Job Center, said they were happy to see so many applicants spanning all demographics, coming into their center and learning about their services.

Bride said workers should think of using the job center to pursue as many transferable skills as they can, like basic computer skills. Many workers have been in their roles for over 20 years, and Bride said computer skills will give them an edge in the job market.

Gruber said anybody out of a job now should be networking with friends and family immediately. She said the Job Center is aware hiring is still continuing throughout the county, even if jobs are not advertised.

To learn more

To learn about more opportunities or submit an application to Wisconsin Specialty Protein, visit:

The Sauk County Job Center

522 South Boulevard, P.O. Box 730,

Baraboo, WI 53913

Phone: (608) 355-3140

The center is open weekly from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.