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Business and Industry in Fond du Lac

The economic climate of Fond du Lac is stable due in large part to its sizeable, diverse and strong base of business and industry. No one company dominates the labor market. Only three of the more than 215 firms in the city and the surrounding area have more than 1,000 employees — Mercury Marine, Quad/Graphics, Inc. and Agnesian HealthCare. An additional nine have more than 300 workers and only 22 employ between 100 and 200 persons. The remaining 180 or so companies employ less than 99 people, ensuring a constancy in the economic life of the community.

With 3,200 employees drawn from Fond du Lac and surrounding communities, Mercury is the largest of Fond du Lac’s employers. The company manufactures outboard motors, stern drives, marine inboard engines and a variety of other marine parts and accessories.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. (a major printer in the small nearby town of Lomira) is the area’s second largest firm with more than 2,000 employees. At more than two million square feet, it is the largest single printing facility in the western hemisphere.

Giddings and Lewis, LLC (maker of stand-alone machine tools, coordinated measuring machines, programmable industrial controllers and gray iron castings) is another prominent manufacturing facility, employing about 750. The company was founded in Fond du Lac in 1859 as a repair shop for gristmill and lumber mill machinery.

The products bearing the “Made in Fond du Lac” label are as diverse as the companies that make them. Products from Fond du Lac include welding equipment, laboratory instruments, paint rollers, recreational and sports equipment, cheese, a variety of sauces and condiments, burial vaults, mattresses and box springs, pollution control equipment, industrial liquid chillers and cooling equipment, hospital beds, temperature control systems, aluminum extrusions, exhaust systems and screen printing.

Reflecting the importance of the agricultural area that surrounds Fond du Lac, numerous companies make products for agriculture. These products include: bulk milk pickup tanks, agricultural animal feeds, septic tanks, manure pumps and augers, hoof trimmers, feed carts and conveyors, feed and grain handling equipment and equipment for dairy and food processing.

The employee training programs offered by Moraine Park Technical College benefit Fond du Lac area employers. The college works with area industry in identifying training needs and often tailors courses to meet specific requirements.

Several large industrial parks in the community offer excellent locations close to Highway 41 and other surrounding roadways. Fond du Lac’s West Industrial Park has a total of 70 acres with sites ranging in size from two acres to more than four acres. Fond du Lac’s Southwest Industrial Park is comprised of 202 acres, with lots as large as 11-plus acres. The 70-acre Ledgeview Corporate Center business park surrounds a large pond encircled by a nature trail on the south side of town. Wisconsin American Business Park (conveniently located near Highways 23, 45 and 151) has approximately 62 acres available for commercial development and Steenberg Business Park has more than 108 commercial development sites.

A new 128-acre business park is being developed in North Fond du Lac at the intersection of Highway 41 and County Highway 00. Northgate Business Park includes 76 acres for light industrial development, 20 acres for commercial development and 14 acres for multi-family development. The remaining acres will be used for streets and storm water retention. The City of Fond du Lac has recently purchased more than 275 acres for its next generation industrial park.

The city provides substantial business assistance to companies willing to expand facilities or relocate operations to Fond du Lac. Its Economic Development Incentive program provides loans up to $50,000 to encourage expansion, which creates new jobs. The Community Development Zone program has a total of $1,250,000 in state funds for use as tax incentives to encourage expansion or relocation. The Zone covers most of the city’s central business district and other commercial and industrial areas. In addition, the city’s Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund provides up to $100,000 to businesses to help expand facilities, purchase new equipment or relocate plants. The city also has a revolving loan fund for use in rehabbing business and residential properties.

The hospitality industry contributes to Fond du Lac’s economic base with more than 16 hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts located in the area. Eighteen banks and other financial service providers serve the community, encourage development and provide a solid economic foundation.