Sheboygan's Old Wisconsin has made a community out of making sausage in its 75 years
SHEBOYGAN - One thing hasn’t changed about the Old Wisconsin Sausage Company in the company's 75 years, according to vice president and general manager Steve Harrison. It’s always been about people.
“You know, it's been about products, but it's predominantly about people who care about what they're doing,” Harrison said. “Try to put out a good product. Try and do the right things at the right time. Keep people as happy as you can. And you know, that's probably a tradition that hopefully will continue to move forward.”
Old Wisconsin provided food during COVID-19 pandemic
Many businesses closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing people to work from home or leaving many without jobs. But Old Wisconsin stayed open.
“The mantra was OK, everybody can work from home. Well, when you're making food and you're in manufacturing, it doesn't really work that well,” Harrison said. “We got up in front of the staff and told them how important it was — that we had people counting on us to make food for them. If you don't have food, you've got a problem.”
To provide a safe environment, he said they had nurses on board, partitions in break areas and COVID-19 sick-leave policies in place, which left some spaces empty on production lines.
“If you're missing 10% of your workforce or 15% — and I think that's probably the high watermark that we were missing, maybe 20 people or 30 people at some point because of the restrictions of COVID — and try and manage schedules at that point in time gets to be pretty interesting,” Harrison said.
Old Wisconsin had challenges with getting meat from processing plants at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic because many shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks. After that, supply chain issues with other ingredients and components, such as spices and film for packaging, created obstacles in production.
“It was just so many things in flux at a given point in time,” Harrison said. “It was challenging, so we're all kind of looking forward to maybe things just settling down just a little bit.”
Although some supply chain issues have improved, Harrison said, like companies across the manufacturing industry, Old Wisconsin is experiencing challenges with inflation.
“It continues to be a challenge of getting products out there, just like the car lots aren't full of cars. You know, whether it's one piece of the puzzle, if you can't have a chip, you can't get the car,” chief executive officer Robert Buddig said. “It could be the smallest little ingredient, or one part. … And along with that can be layered with the price and all sorts. It’s not been stable grounds on a lot of things out there right now.”
For Old Wisconsin, Harrison said spice prices have increased more than 20%, film prices have increased 15% and box prices have increased by double digits. This has led to an increase in retail products.
Overall, the price of food increased 1% for June 2022 and 10% over the past year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Both Bob (Robert Buddig) and I have been in this business for over 40 years and the last two or three years have probably been the most challenging of our entire careers,” Harrison said. “Because you never seem like you could do enough or keep people happy. Customers were mad because you couldn't get them enough product. Employees were concerned because they were working an awful lot of hours. So, you have to make those adjustments.”
Old Wisconsin has created a culture of community throughout its history
Old Wisconsin began as Thielmann’s, and was founded by Frank Thielmann and William Stolzman in 1947. Six years later, Thielmann's opened its first plant to meet increasing demand and was renamed as Thielmann’s Old Wisconsin Sausage Company.
For Buddig and Harrison, the Sheboygan community and Old Wisconsin have had a close relationship over the years.
“We have an area here that's driven by a lot of family businesses, and we think we treat our people in our community, not just ourselves, but our associates that work with us, like it's a community,” Buddig said. “I'm not just saying we're special. I'm saying all the community is special, and people don't realize how nice it is to live in this community.”
Buddig, who's from Chicago, said Sheboygan is a “breath of fresh air.”
In 1981, Carl Buddig and Co., a family-owned meat-process company, purchased Old Wisconsin and changed the name to Old Wisconsin Sausage Company.
“Our family has learned a lot from being up here as well,” Buddig said. “And the spirit here and of Old Wisconsin — other than one employee, every employee up here is from the area. So, you know, it's been homegrown, basically home to its own. It’s kind of neat to watch the company grow.”
Old Wisconsin employs about 500 people, with some working for Old Wisconsin for 20 to 40 years.
Harrison said a culture has been built at Old Wisconsin.
“(Employees) have to believe in what they're doing,” Harrison said. “And they like seeing their products. I mean, basically you can go across the country and find Old Wisconsin somewhere. And just knowing that maybe they touched it, maybe they put it in a bag, maybe they loaded it on a truck — there's a lot of pride associated with that.”
Old Wisconsin is sold across the United States and in Canada. Buddig also said that Old Wisconsin will largely go with Walmart, the company’s biggest customer, wherever they go.
The company has moved away from traditional sausages to meat snacks, which Buddig said they transitioned to because many people are deciding to snack rather than eat the traditional three meals a day.
“Everything's on the go,” Buddig said. “And even sitting down having dinner at home is not the same as it used to be. So much stuff is portable on-the-go snacking. Snacking is on trend, big-time, and protein is on trend."
In Sheboygan, Old Wisconsin has a retail shop at 2107 S. Seventeenth St. and a distribution and packaging facility at 4036 Weeden Creek Rd., which the company moved into from its former site on Union Avenue.
Harrison said he thinks they’re honest about where the company has been and where it's planning to go.
“Providing a career path for people, younger folks who are coming on board, making sure that we're paying better than competitive wages and benefits so that they can take care of their family,” Harrison said. “Those values, I think, are instilled in our company that going forward, I feel really good about the future.”
In addition to creating a positive workplace and culture at Old Wisconsin, Harrison said they try to be involved in the community, whether through volunteering or economic development initiatives.
“There's a quality-of-life question that, if we're going to attract and retain people … you want to have the amenities,” Harrison said. “So, if those things are not being supported within the community, they may or may not develop. ... The support of the community is having that staff who likes living here, has things to do when they're living here.”
He said Old Wisconsin makes efforts to support community organizations that their employees volunteer with, too, such as making products and monetary donations.
"We make sure that we support them and, again, it's nothing really any different than the responsibility, social responsibility, I think that every company in Sheboygan County has, and that may or may not be true in other communities,” Harrison said. “But, you know, I think we're close-knit.”
To celebrate employees, Harrison said Old Wisconsin throws staff parties twice a year, brings in food trucks once a month, and offers incentives and breakfast to those who work on Saturdays.
“We try and have some fun too. Our folks work really, really hard,” Harrison said. “... I think in this day and age right now, people need to know that they're appreciated. Because it's not always just about money. To some people, it is just about money, but people want to know that they're important to the company.”
More: Olive Garden could be coming to the Sheboygan area soon. Here's where and what to know.
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Old Wisconsin Sausage in Sheboygan celebrating 75 years of community
