by Keene Winters for Wausau Pilot and Review
Throw a pebble in a pond, and the waves move out from the point of impact in concentric circles. In my last opinion essay, I talked about using Wausau’s ability to generate water as the basis for forming a strategic partnership with the Milwaukee Water Council and the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences to bring a water technology research and testing facility to Wausau. That simple step could be our pebble in the pond. It could put Wausau “on the map” in water technology circles and could have a ripple effect throughout the local economy.
With a prototype testing facility Wausau would be in a position to identify and attract companies that use water technology. Many of those companies are likely to be positioned to meet the needs of a growing global middle class.
One of the great mega trends of the 21st Century is the rate at which people around the world are being lifted out of poverty and into the middle class. According to Northstar Economics, Inc., there were about seven billion people on the planet in 2010, and an estimated 1.9 billion were middle class consumers. More than half of those consumers lived in Europe and North America. By 2030, it is expected that the middle class will include 4.9 billion people, and two-thirds of them will live in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Put simply, in a very short time period, there will be a lot more people with things like microwave ovens. Therefore, facilities that produce microwaveable meals are an example of a potential growth industry that uses water and could be brought to Wausau. These facilities will not be like your grandmother’s seasonal job at the pea cannery. Rather, they will be highly automated production facilities with good-paying jobs.
With this type of industry we can expect several down-stream effects. One would be the need for packaging material. That is good news for the surviving paper mills in this area. They have niched themselves as producing specialty papers for packaging instead of trying to be the low-cost producer of generic paper. If we want to keep and grow these good-paying mill jobs then creating a local demand for their products is a good idea.
The production of packaging material, in turn, generates demand for wood fiber. We have a lot of forest crop land in the vicinity, and we practice sustainable forestry in Wisconsin. Increasing demand for this raw material would also be a boost to the local economy.
In sum, we have water in Wausau, access to wood fiber materials in the surrounding area and some specialty paper mills that can turn the raw materials into food packaging. Now add a water technology research facility and start prospecting businesses that will prepare convenience foods for the growing middle class. Putting all that in place, and we would be well on our way to achieving critical masses in a growth industry. That concentration of vertical components can translate into cost-savings and a competitive advantage.
There are a few other ripple effects worth mentioning that stem for this configuration. Both food producers and mills use railroads. We have rail lines now, but it is an expensive piece of infrastructure to maintain. Unless the community continues to generate traffic for these lines, they are in danger of being abandoned or having such high freight rates that employers who use rails are forced to consider relocation.
The presence of a UW-Milwaukee research facility opens new connections for the University of Wisconsin Marathon County. It could be the home-base for faculty, research programs and graduate students.
Also, the preparation of food for human consumption will generate organic waste. Right now, the city’s wastewater treatment plant has one digester that converts bio-waste into methane, which fuels some of the machines at the plant. With more organic waste and three or four digesters, the city could be a small-scale producer of electricity or a producer of compressed natural gas that fuels select vehicles in the city’s fleet.
Together, these are just a few examples to flesh-out this idea of vision. A good vision keeps track of all of these moving parts and how they fit together.
Besides vision, we also need leaders. Leaders are the keepers of the vision and convene all the stakeholders to get them working in one direction.
Wausau used to be a town with leaders who had vision. For the most part, they were in the private sector. They famously mounted the community campaign to build the downtown mall. Their influence can still be seen in developments like the Dudley Tower or the ad hoc lobby group that helped make sure Wausau got a Medical College of Wisconsin residency program.
Where are those leaders now? And what vision, if any, do they have for Wausau’s future?
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of opinion editorials by Keene Winters on ideas for Wausau’s future. Winters served as an alderman in Wausau from 2012-2016. Reader responses and opinions are always welcome. Email submissions and letters for publication to [email protected].
