Jim Schumacher, facilities manager for Epic Systems, presents a plaque to The Morse Group President Shawn Sullivan during a program held Monday at The Morse Group in Beloit. The Morse Group was honored for work it has done at the Epic campus in Verona.
BELOIT — Three Rock County companies were honored Monday for their work at the Epic Systems campus in Verona, and for helping to make the Interstate 90 corridor between Beloit and Madison an engine for economic growth.
Jim Schumacher, facilities manager for Epic Systems, presents a plaque to The Morse Group President Shawn Sullivan during a program held Monday at The Morse Group in Beloit. The Morse Group was honored for work it has done at the Epic campus in Verona.
The Morse Group, JP Cullen and LYCON Inc. were honored during a gathering at The Morse Group facility in the Gateway Business Park in Beloit Monday morning. Representatives from each of the Rock County companies were presented plaques by Epic Facilities Manager Jim Schumacher, who noted each company’s contribution to the construction of the 1,670-acre Epic campus in Verona over the past 20 years.
“Over the past 20 years these companies have dedicated 11.3 million man-hours to the construction of the Verona campus,” Schumacher said.
He said the regional collaboration demonstrated by the firms is essential for economic growth.
Epic Systems, founded in 1979, provides software systems for electronic health records. It employs 15,000 people, making it one of Wisconsin’s largest privately owned employers, and serves customers in 16 countries.
The Verona campus includes 89 buildings, including 28 office buildings, three food service buildings, two learning campus buildings and even a treehouse. It also includes the Deep Space amphitheater, which can seat over 10,000, as well as wind turbines, solar power collectors and 40 acres of green roofs.
Shawn Sullivan, president of The Morse Group, said the Beloit-based company has been involved in work at the Verona campus since 2009 and has dedicated 3.5 million man hours to the project. The Morse Group has provided electrical and automation services at the Epic Verona campus and has employed 1,753 people at the site in Verona since 2009.
Sullivan said the Morse Group has been involved in large projects before, such as work at Las Vegas Raiders Stadium, but the Epic Verona campus is among its largest clients.
“It is definitely our longest running project,” Sullivan said.
LYCON has provided concrete and building materials for the Verona project and JP Cullen has been a construction contractor for the project.
Coral Graszer, media relations representative for Epic, said there are still additions being made to the Verona site.
Republican Congressman Bryan Steil, of Janesville, said the long-standing cooperation between the companies demonstrate the potential for the I-90 corridor.
“The importance of the I-90 corridor can’t be overstated,” Steil said.
A panel discussion about the importance of the I-90 corridor followed award presentations.
Panel members included JP Cullen President George Cullen, president of JP Cullen, Forward Janesville CEO and President Shar Hermanson, and Zach Brandon, president of the Madison Chamber of Commerce.
“The I-90 corridor is a unifying force for development and entrepreneurship,” Brandon said. “We make some cool things in the region.”
Panel members said there was a time when Wisconsin officials thought of the business corridor being east and west, but today, business officials would be wise to think north and south, as the business corridor of the future.
