- October is manufacturing month
- GLC Minerals, using the Port of Green Bay, has roots of more than 150 years in northeast Wisconsin
- Video takes you to the company you might have seen during a drive over the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay
A company in northeast Wisconsin with roots going back more than 150 years is located in Green Bay because of a natural resource: Water.
"The [Port of Green Bay] is why we're here," said Holly Bellmund, president and chief operating officer of GLC Minerals.
GLC Minerals and the companies that preceded it have been in Green Bay since 1871, Bellmund said.
"Green Bay is a historic port, the company started by bringing goods to build the city from Buffalo by sailing vessel in the 1800s," Bellmund said.
While much has changed since then, the company's reliance on the Bay remains.
Freighters bring minerals from around the Great Lakes to the company.
"... [W]e bring in over 400,000 tons a year..." said Ken Przybyla, vice president of operations at GLC Minerals.
Their raw materials come from quarries in the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, as well as one in Canada.
The minerals are then ground up and sometimes mixed, then hauled away by truck or train.
The company's products include calcium carbonate that can be fed to animals, for example.
GLC Minerals serves the agriculture, industrial, glass, environmental, and agronomy (think soil health) industries, according to the company.
Fifty employees work at the company, including, in some cases, multiple generations from the same family, Bellmund said.
Note: In partnership with the Greater Green Bay Chamber, NBC 26 is celebrating Manufacturing Month throughout October. Previous stories featured a family business in Seymour, the company that makes Skee Ball games in Pulaski, and a pizza factory in Green Bay.
