BECOME A FaBRICATOR

 

FaB aims to make Wisconsin’s food and beverage industry know-how – of the best in the world – better known and more accessible to our members.

In Wisconsin, from farm to factory to fork, 20,000 enterprises and 374,000 people are feeding and quenching the world. Among them are our FaBricators - those with a desire to share their industry experience to help you achieve your goals, FaB-confirmed and onboarded to offer their insights.

Interested in becoming a FaBricator? Consider applying for Member FaBricator designation.

Have a question or need assistance? Pose your question and meet our FaBricators.

 

WHAT ARE MEMBER FaBRICATORS & WHAT DO THEY DO?

FaBricators are employees of FaB member companies who are self-identified, confirmed, and onboarded to share their subject matter industry experience with fellow members with questions or quandaries. They’re at the ready to help fellow members by responding, when relevant and when available, to member inquiries posted via the Ask a FaBricator form. If you’re interested, consider applying for Member FaBricator designation.


HOW DO FaB MEMBERS ACCESS MEMBER FaBRICATORS? 

Members complete an online form to post their query to the Pose Your Question form, noting a primary discipline and subject matter experience. FaBricators receive an invite from FaB Wisconsin to respond to the query.  Available FaBricators respond to FaB and are cleared to reach out to the member in need. If a FaBricator is not available, a member of the FaB Team will respond. 


WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES OF INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE? 

The following areas of subject matter experience have been identified. FaBricators, when applying will qualify their industry experience of 3-5 years in any of the following:

Accounting & Finance
Cost accounting, marketing finance accounting, corporate finance accounting, cash & credit management, financing/debt management, financing/equity management

Buildings & Facilities

Business Planning
Strategy development, 2-5 year strategic plan development, annual business plan development, business metrics/KPI, business continuity planning

Business Systems, Information Systems & Technologies
Network development & management, technologies/business systems development & management, office/operations technology development & management

Distribution & Retail

Entrepreneurship

Exporting, Importing & International
Customs & freight forwarding management, international shipping management, international distributors management, international customer relationship management, international marketing management

Food or Beverage Production

Food & Employee Safety
Quality management, ingredient/packaging/finished product specifications, incoming ingredients/work-in-process/finished goods audits, product recall, process documentation (GMP, SOP, SCM, HACCP, SPC, SQF, FSMA, GFSI), OSHA

Human Resources
Compensation & benefits, FML/UE/worker’s comp, talent recruitment & attraction, talent  engagement & retention, training, safety, payroll & benefits

Legal & Insurance
Liability, IP/copyrights, contracts, corporate structure, mergers & acquisitions, risk management, employment law

Marketing
Brand management/positioning, communications, product line/margin management, advertising/social media & consumer promotion management, marketing research

Mergers & Acquisitions
Due diligence, deal terms & condition, integration

Operations Management

Manufacturing production & management, continuous improvement, facilities management, equipment management (inventory, preventive/predictive maintenance, equipment history), engineering process & packaging development, project & construction management

Regulatory, Licensing & Labeling
USDA/FDA, local/regional, labeling/nutritionals/claims, licensing & permits, food safety, certifications (gluten free, organic, allergens, kosher/halal/etc.)

Research & Development
R&D, innovation, new products, continuous improvement, innovation/new product development planning & management, product development, packaging development, product & packaging testing

Sales
Customer relationship management, trade management, sales forecasting, broker management, distribution management (wholesaler, DSD, grocery retail, specialty retail, C-store, drug, limited assortment, club/mass, ecommerce/interest)

Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation

Procurement management, supplier onboarding & certification, MRP/ERP management, sales & operations capacity planning & management, transportation/shipping, warehouse management

 

WHAT VALUE IS THERE IN BECOMING A MEMBER FaBRICATOR? 

It’s an opportunity to:

  • Leverage for both your (or your employees') professional and business development 
  • Share your experience with those in need of assistance. 
  • Develop professionally and grow your network to assist you in meeting your role and employer goals.
  • Directly contribute to helping FaB create a resilient food scene across Wisconsin that is the envy of the world. 

 

WHAT'S THE PROCESS TO BECOME A FaBRICATOR?

FaBricator designation is available to employees of member food and beverage companies and Choice, Select, or Premium level service providers. Be sure your employer membership qualifies you for application. 

If your company isn't ready to upgrade their membership, consider a three month FaBrication trial for your company: just $375 for technical service providers and $625 for professional service providers. Interested? Contact Gina Balke, FaB's VP of Industry Engagement, at [email protected].

 

APPLY
  1. Self-assess: do you have the ambition, aspiration, and time to help fellow FaB members and to participate in quarterly 90-minute FaBricator Check-Ins via Zoom?
  2. Do you have an updated LinkedIn profile that communicates your experience? (three or more years is desirable)
  3. Determine if you can commit to FaB’s Code of FaBrication.
  4. Determine if you will need employer approval to participate.
  5. Complete the Member FaBricator application and sign FaB’s Code of FaBrication.
Apply to Become a FaBricator


GET APPROVED & ONBOARDED

  1. Receive application approval from the FaB team.
  2. Complete our online FaBrication Onboarding.
  3. Receive your official FaB confirmation and FaBricator recognition.

START FaBRICATING

  1. Start FaBricating as inquiries are sent to you and your fellow FaBricators.
  2. Accept Outlook invites and participate in quarterly FaBricator Check-Ins.
"We've had tremendous levels of engagement with FaB across all aspects of our company, particularly the Member FaBricators program. We, like so many other manufacturers, have experienced significant worker shortages while witnessing record levels of incoming customer orders. The Member FaBricators program allowed us to quickly explore robotics and automation by networking via FaB. It has been exciting to imagine new sales verticals made possible by new technology. All thanks to FaB!"

Sam J. Maglio, Jr.
President, Maglio Companies
Executive Board Member
 

THANKS TO OUR PREMIUM MEMBERS