Two-company town

La Crosse Tribune, Sep 14, 1998

ARCADIA, Wis. -- There's no shortage of jobs in Arcadia, where many people commute to work at The Ashley Cos. headquarters and furniture plant and the Gold'n Plump Poultry processing facility.

There have been sharp increases in the number of jobs at the two largest employers in this community of 2,200 people, with a regional impact.

Ashley Cos. has more than 2,000 employees between its Arcadia facilities and its manufacturing plants in Whitehall and Independence, said Ron Wanek, chairman and chief executive officer. He declined to give a breakdown, but said most of the 2,000 work in Arcadia. About 70 percent of its Arcadia employees come from within a 20-mile radius.

The number of employees at Gold'n Plump Poultry's Arcadia plant has increased to about 600, said Bill Petz, director of Arcadia operations for the St. Cloud, Minn.-based company. Some of them are commuting from as far away as La Crosse and Eau Claire.

Arcadia impact

"They're (Ashley Companies and Gold'n Plump Poultry) great for the town," said Jeanette Myers, co-owner of Myers Bakery, a downtown Main Street business her family has operated for more than 40 years. "They really bring in a lot of people," generating additional sales at local businesses.

There's one drawback, if you own a small business in Arcadia. "It's hard to find employees because of all the jobs there are," Myers said. "There have been more jobs than there are people to fill them in the last three or four years."

"They definitely woke up the community," said Glen Bawek, co-owner of Bawek's Shoes, also on Main Street. "There's a lot more life, more people. It seems like the rural area is picking up. People are building (homes) in the rural area more so than in town.

"I'm sure the merchants are happy to have them here," Bawek said. "We do have our growing pains." Extending water and sewer lines at times creates "a little inconvenience here and there."

Bawek also said, "One thing it's done for us is kept the family on the farm. If they need a second income, they can work there, too."

"They are very good corporate citizens," said Bruce Salzmann, senior vice president of the State Bank of Arcadia and president of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce. Both companies make substantial donations to local projects, he said.

"They draw a lot of people to town, both as employers and as businesses attracting other businesses to locate in town, including suppliers of goods or services that they use," Salzmann said. A number of other local manufacturers also provide a large number of jobs, he said.

"By virtue of a spouse working there, it's allowed a number of sole proprietorship owners and family farm owners to have health insurance for their families," Salzmann said. "Some of the basic benefits that many employers have available."

Salzmann also said a number of highway improvement projects have been completed in the area that otherwise probably would not have been funded by the state.

Arcadia may grow

Recent improvements will allow Arcadia's population to grow for the first time in decades, Wanek said.

The town's flooding problems have largely been corrected, a new high school opened this fall, the educational system has been upgraded and roads have been improved, he said. "The community is upgrading itself," he said.

Now that its infrastructure as been improved, Wanek said, "I would expect that the town would be in for some good (population) growth."

Wanek said that in 1997 Ashley Cos.' annual payroll for its three Wisconsin locations totals about $60 million, its local purchases total about $34.6 million and the company pays about $336,000 in property taxes.

Gold'n Plump Poultry declined to give payroll or property tax figures for its Arcadia operation, but corporate spokeswoman Julie Berling said the Minnesota-based company has about 1,800 employees (including 600 in Arcadia) and an annual payroll of about $40 million.

Petz said Gold'n Plump wag range from about $7.35 to $14 an hour, while Wanek declined to say what his company's wage range is.

Dollar's impact

"We're going to add some employees, but not to the degree that we've been adding," Wanek said of Ashley Cos. The company may add about 200 employees, primarily in Arcadia, where it is expanding its plant. When that will happen depends on the economy, Wanek said. "But very possibly in the next year," he said.

"It's scary right now with what's happening, so many manufacturing jobs are leaving the United States because of the strong dollar," Wanek said. "Imports are very attractive" to U.S. customers, and the strong dollar makes U.S. goods more expensive overseas.

"Plus you've got Asia right now that is basically importing nothing from the United States and exporting bucketloads," Wanek said. "So when you talk about the expansion of jobs in the United States, the future is pretty bleak."

A number of furniture factories are being built overseas, Wanek said. "We're having to be very innovative in figuring out new products and how we're going to compete with all of these new products that are going to be coming from overseas."