Resources Allow the Madison Region to Go Global

Excellent talent pipeline and an export-friendly infrastructure help fuel success for companies based in Wisconsin.

By Bill Lewis on July 28, 2023

A wealth of local resources helps give global reach to international businesses in Madison who choose this region as the place to grow and create jobs.

As they build their international customer base, businesses have access to the talent pipeline from two campuses of the University of Wisconsin, export-friendly infrastructure and expert advice. Foreign Trade Zone No. 266 was created by the Dane County Regional Airport, and Milwaukee – just 80 miles away – is Foreign Trade Zone No. 41, the region’s primary shipping port.

Resources include the Madison International Trade Association (MITA), as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which offers scholarships for ExporTech. That 12-week virtual program offers group and customized personal coaching between sessions, with the goal of helping small to midsize Wisconsin companies tap into new markets.

Luxembourg-headquartered Eurofins Scientific, Madison-based Exact Sciences and Fitchburg-based Phoenix, a division of Janesville-headquartered SHINE, all successfully navigated international business from their locations in the Madison Region.

“Madison, Wisconsin, serves as the ideal home for Eurofins,” says Edward Ladwig, president of Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing.

Eurofins, a laboratory testing company, spans 59 countries with around 61,000 employees and more than 940 laboratories, including a food chemistry testing location and a microbiology laboratory in Madison.

International Flavor

The roots of the company’s nutritional chemistry area of focus in Madison began at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). It later spun off as a company that eventually became known as Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing Madison.

“Access to a major research university plays a significant role in our work,” Ladwig says.

The Eurofins lab in Madison specializes in analyzing infant formula, sole-source nutrition products, hemp and CBD, dietary supplements, pesticides and more. 

“We currently employ over 400 employees at the location and are continuously growing our team to best serve the needs of our clients. The diverse team of leading food scientists provides a broad range of resources, experience and expertise that enable our customers to bring innovative, sustainable, safe products to market, faster,” Ladwig says.

A leader in cancer testing, Exact Sciences has an international presence in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, England and Japan.

The company is known for launching Cologuard, the first stool DNA test for colorectal cancer, and continues to grow its product portfolio to encompass screening and precision tests for other types of cancer.

Lifesaving Medicine in the Making

Phoenix and SHINE were both founded by CEO Greg Piefer. They merged in 2021. SHINE is expanding rapidly, with new facilities under construction in Janesville in Rock County and facilities slated for construction in the Netherlands and on the West Coast of the U.S.

“Southern Wisconsin has been a great place to build on our talent pool and develop our business journey. We’ve found a great match between solid work ethic and talent along the UW corridor to help further our nuclear fusion aspirations,” says Cheryl Peterson, manager of community and employee engagement.

SHINE employs about 120 workers in Fitchburg, about 250 in Janesville and a growing team of 10 in the Netherlands. Teams in Fitchburg are responsible for designing, engineering and manufacturing custom fusion systems.

The Phoenix neutron imaging team in Fitchburg supports the inspection of industrial components such as airplane fan blades and other intricate parts. In Janesville, the company is developing and scaling its nuclear medicine businesses.  

SHINE received a final Safety Evaluation Report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Janesville facility, where it plans to produce molybdenum-99, which powers medical procedures to diagnose heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

“This is an achievement that’s been a decade in the making. … By reaching this milestone not seen with the NRC in more than 35 years, we’ve managed to accomplish what no startup has done before and are that much closer to reaching our goal of using fusion to make life-saving medicine,” Piefer says.

Molybdenum-99 is used to power 40 million patient scans each year, and the Janesville facility is expected to fulfill half of that demand. In doing so, SHINE will also continue their work of bringing medical isotope production technology back to the U.S., where it was first invented and commercialized.

“We will continue to do the hard things that are important to the world and will unlock value for our shareholders,” he says. “The achievement of this milestone makes me more confident than ever that our team will be able to do the hard things in nuclear, including growth into waste recycling and ultimately fusion energy.”

Science Spotlight: Promega

If it has something to do with science, chances are that Promega Corp. could be involved in some way.

The Fitchburg-based company researches, designs and manufactures products for biotechnology and molecular biology advancements around the world. Promega is involved in areas such as discovering new drugs to fight diseases, ensuring food and water safety and quality, and making human identifications in criminal cases.

“Life scientists use the tools we develop and manufacture to answer their most challenging questions,” says Penny Patterson, Promega’s vice president of corporate affairs. “We also make 4,000 instruments and products to automate various research and lab procedures to increase efficiency and precision.”

Founded in 1978 by Bill Linton, who still serves as chairman and CEO, Promega also supports educational science-based programs for all ages. That includes the Promega International Scientific Scholarship created for qualified University of Wisconsin-Madison undergrads who undertake international internships aimed at using science to improve the quality of life in the world.

“The intention behind the scholarship is to help undergrads have an experience they’ve never had before, sponsoring them to practice science in a part of the world that is new to them,” Patterson says. “In 2022, scholarship recipients collaborated with local artisans in Tibet, tested water quality in Ecuador and characterized disease-related proteins in Germany. This scholarship started almost 10 years ago.”

Patterson adds that Promega enjoys doing business in the Madison Region.

“The Madison area contributes to a high quality of life for our employees,” she says. “The environment and amenities of this region make this a rich place to grow a profession and raise a family.”