FirstPathway Weblog

Startup water tech companies already committed to lease space in the developing International Water Technology Accelerator will now have a new partner in Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. The law firm will provide services to the innovators within the center in order to obtain patents and form corporations, among other needed services.

Thus far the seven-story Accelerator building is approximately 75% leased, including the following tenants:  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Badger Meter Inc., A.O. Smith Corp., Veolia Water North America, The Milwaukee Water Council, Hanging Gardens, Alga Bionics, Greater Milwaukee Committee, Stormwater Solutions, Sloan Valve, Grundfos Pumps, Pave Drain and Xela Innovations.

To Read More in the Business Journal, Click Here.

To see Progress on the Project through the FPP Flickr Account, Click Here.

The FirstPathway Partners Investment Project, Downtown Marriott Milwaukee, was recently featured in the Milwaukee business news source, BizTimes. According to the article, with the opening of the new Milwaukee Marriott slated for this July, there will be the added attraction of nearly 10,000 square feet of new event space for the city. It is expected to be utilized not only by corporate events, but also weddings and other social events.

There will be a 5,500 square-foot East Side Ballroom to accommodate up to 360 guests, as well as three 1,000 square-foot meeting spaces, and two 700-square-foot meeting spaces. The space is highly flexible overall, with a contemporary feel, and the Ballroom has the capacity to be divided into three separate spaces through wall partitions.

However, size is not the main focus for the facility, service is. “We’re not focusing on being the largest event facility in the city, but certainly we want to be the one with the most genuine care and quality in service” said Jeff Hess, general manager of the hotel. The Marriott has been designed as a place where people meet and want to convene, and quality service is a key component of that. The new Marriott, a brand with an already established reputation of quality, has booked 11 meetings and events for this summer and continues to receive various other inquiries regarding availability for the event space.

To read more in the BizTimes Milwaukee, click here.

On Thursday, February 14, 2013 Mr. Bob Kraft, MMAC China Co-Chair and Chairman of FPP, will be co-hosting the annual MMAC Chinese New Year Celebration. This will be a great opportunity to network with other business professionals, and learn about Governor Scott Walker’s upcoming trade mission to China in April.

To learn more about the 2013 Chinese New Year and/or Register for the event, click here

Jan. 3, 2013 – We congratulate First Edge CEO, Mr. Bobby Kraft for his exemplary appearance on the Fox Business Channel’s After the Bell program. FPP is proud to have participated in the investment and further development of First Edge Solutions and we wish Bobby and his team a future of continued success!

Click here to watch the After the Bell segment of Bobby discussing the impact of the Fiscal Cliff Deal on small business.

On November 5th, FirstPathway Partners Chairman Bob Kraft and Director of China Operations Dan Redford visited the U.S. Commercial Service in Guangzhou. They were honored to meet with Commercial Consul for the United States, Mr. Greg Wong, and his staff to discuss the EB5 program and investment in America from China. We are proud to say that Greg is a Milwaukee native and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee graduate. Bob and Dan both were impressed by the warm welcome, and we are so happy to have such great representation for our country in one of China’s largest cities.

Many thanks to Greg and his team!

Construction crew hoists the final beam to the highest point of the vertical hotel structure.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012- Today The Milwaukee Marriott Downtown celebrated the “topping off” of vertical construction. In attendance was FirstPathway Partners Chairman/CEO Bob Kraft and Milwaukee Mayor, Tom Barrett. FirstPathway Partners would like to thank the hundreds of dedicated skilled workers who played a part in this milestone.

View the Celebration

This week the Milwaukee Marriott’s restaurant was featured in several publications. The Milwaukee themed restaurant, seating a projected 155 guests, will serve local Wisconsin cheeses, craft beers and Usinger’s sausages, as well as fresh fish from the Great Lakes. The restaurant, developed by CZH Hospitality Group in an exclusive relationship White Lodging Services Corp, will use locally sourced building materials to blend urban décor with historic Downtown Milwaukee characteristics.

“White Lodging, Carl Bruggemeier and CZH Hospitality represent the gold standard in the hospitality industry, and what they plan to bring to Milwaukee is truly exceptional,” said Ed Carow, managing partner of hotel developer Jackson Street Holdings.  CZH
Hospitality Group, is known for its work on such restaurants as Tavern on the Green in New York.

FirstPathway Partners is proud to manage investments in the Milwaukee Marriott.

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On September 27, DeltaHawk Diesel Engines and EBR (Erik Buell Racing) both presented working demonstrations to the PiYi delegation of investors from China at Discovery World in Milwaukee, WI. Both companies are a testament to manufacturing and innovation in Wisconsin, and FirstPathway Partners is pleased to partner with these pioneering companies.

DeltaHawk specializes in lightweight turbo-diesel engines designed for aviation and non-aviation use, and EBR is building on a successful history of racing and is beginning to manufacture sport bikes for the general consumer.

Browse our photo gallery of the event

Monday August 13, 2012- The Global Water Center kicked off renovations today with a ceremony attended by Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker and several local officials. The Milwaukee Water Council begins renovations this week on an innovative water research & business accelerator center, scheduled to open in early 2013. The facility will be a venue for attracting and creating new businesses in the water industry, and will address key local and global water-quality technology and policy issues. The seven-story building, will house the research operations of Badger Meter Inc., A.O. Smith Corp., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences among other tenants.

Attendees included: Bob Kraft Chairman and CEO of FirstPathway Partners, Chris Abele Milwaukee County Executive, Johannes Britz Provost and Vice Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Richard Meeusen Co-chair of the Milwaukee Water Council and President of Badger Meter, Paul Jones Co-chair of the Milwaukee Water Council and CEO of A.O. Smith Corporation, and Dean Amhaus Executive Director of the Milwaukee Water Council.

The center will feature common area amenities, including a 50 person lecture hall, exhibition space for new prototypes and, most importantly, high-tech, shared, core facilities. These core facilities, such as a state-of-the-art water flow lab, are critical to supporting the cutting-edge water research and product development activities of the cluster. The facilities will be constructed to provide resources and expertise that are not presently available anywhere else in the world.

FirstPathway Partners is proud to be an investor in this job creating project.

View our Gallery

Investment to help EBR create hundreds of Wisconsin jobs, build new top-of-the-line street motorcycles and expand East Troy manufacturing and design facility

Friday, July 20, 2012- Investment fund manager FirstPathway Partners LLC today announced it has committed $20 million in EB-5 investment funding to Erik Buell Racing LLC, the East Troy manufacturer of the EBR brand of world-class sport motorcycles. The funding will allow EBR to design and produce additional models of street sport motorcycles and to significantly grow its international exports. EBR also will expand its facility, directly create several hundred new, good-paying jobs for Wisconsin workers and support hundreds of additional indirect jobs.

“This investment in a growing American company is what the EB-5 program is all about,” said Bob Kraft, chairman, CEO and founding partner of FirstPathway Partners. “EBR motorcycles are made in America and in great demand worldwide. This investment will create good manufacturing and engineering jobs in Wisconsin for skilled American workers and greatly strengthen a local company’s position in the global marketplace.”

The federal EB-5 program, put in place in 1990 through a bipartisan effort, allows foreign nationals seeking U.S. residency and citizenship to make financial investments and create jobs in select U.S. markets. The seven-county Southeast Wisconsin region is one of the oldest Midwest investment areas for the EB-5 program, which has investors from Denmark, Brazil, China, South Korea, Hungary, Mexico, Russia and other nations worldwide.

Erik Buell, founder and owner of the company that bears his name, is a recognized pioneer in the world of racing motorcycle technology. A former Harley-Davidson engineer, he started a company – Buell Motorcycle Company, which later became a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson – in 1983. In 2009, Harley ended the Buell line to focus on its own brand. Mr. Buell launched Erik Buell Racing later that year. The company produces high-end, limited-edition street motorcycles under the EBR brand, provides engineering design services, and also runs a successful race team sponsored by Hero MotoCorp and AMSOIL. The team races EBR 1190RS in the top U.S. motorcycle series, AMA Pro Racing Superbike. EBR is currently third in the manufacturers’ championship, behind Yamaha and Suzuki, and has a rider in fourth place in the riders’ championship.

“EB-5 investment funding through FirstPathway Partners is a key part of the financing structure which will allow our company to expand its product line by developing and introducing a broad line of world-class street motorcycles at lower price points than our current products,” Mr. Buell said. “Our research shows a very strong global market for this kind of motorcycle, and this funding will allow motorcycles designed and assembled right here in East Troy to be used in China, India, Europe – all over the world. It’s a great boost not only for our company, but also for Wisconsin’s exports and American business as a whole.”

Erik Buell Racing will do all design, testing and assembly work in East Troy and plans to focus a substantial portion of its spending on Wisconsin, Midwest and American vendors, although many highly specialized motorcycle parts will be sourced overseas. The company anticipates exporting more than half of its products within three or four years.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to re-establish metro Milwaukee as the small engine capital of the world,” Mr. Kraft said. “The investment in EBR will create good jobs locally and spread the word globally about high-quality, American made products. EBR is the only American-made, high-performance sport motorcycle on the market – it competes, and competes very well, with companies like Kawasaki, Honda, BMW, Ducati and other racing icons. EB-5 investment funding will provide a big boost to this promising local company and strengthen the Southeast Wisconsin region. We are honored to be part of this important initiative.”

FirstPathway Partners is one of the fastest-growing EB-5 providers in the nation. The company’s Southeast Wisconsin EB-5 commitments include the Downtown Milwaukee Marriott hotel project, DeltaHawk Diesel Engines in Racine and many others.