Call Center Company in Madison, WI

Pharma/Medical Packaging

TekniPlex Healthcare, which utilizes advanced materials science expertise to help deliver better patient outcomes, has commenced production activities at its new 200,000-square-foot facility in Madison, Wisconsin. Serving as the premier, flagship location for the company’s Barrier Protection Systems business, the plant will combine state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies with materials science experts – all toward the goal of expanding capabilities and access to crucial protective solutions throughout North America and globally.

Marrying uncompromising quality with high-volume production, the spacious new site strengthens TekniPlex Healthcare’s ability to support medical device and pharmaceutical companies, and ultimately their downstream partners, including hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, laboratories and patients, with reliable access to sterile barrier packaging that protects life-saving medical technologies. For the company’s global set of customers, the plant also helps ensure uninterrupted supply chains and expedient delivery windows.

Providing TekniPlex Healthcare with a true U.S. hub that builds upon decades of legacy barrier protection solutions experience, the plant holds an ISO 13485:2016 quality management system (QMS) certification, indicating its robust and well-documented QMS covering all aspects of medical device design, development, production and servicing. This certification reinforces the company’s commitment to providing safe and effective solutions for the medtech industry that satisfy regulatory requirements while consistently meeting customers’ expectations.

Among other vital solutions, the facility – TekniPlex Healthcare’s second in Madison, WI – will play a substantial role in producing coated and printed solutions that protect medical devices and wound care products from contaminants, helping improve patient outcomes. Fittingly for a flagship facility, the new plant will incorporate sophisticated modern manufacturing infrastructure. Current assets include a state-of-the-art air knife coater that significantly increases TekniPlex Healthcare’s supply of coated Tyvek® and heat-seal coated reinforced papers for sterilizable barrier applications, such as procedure kits, IV sets, syringes, and implantable devices. Other highlights include a new wide-width eight-color high-definition flexographic printing press, allowing the company to meet exacting healthcare printing specifications with a near-zero waste manufacturing process.

The plant’s sustainability profile is equally elevated, employing an ecofriendly-by-design approach that drastically minimizes waste. In fact, just two sources of waste leave the facility: hand-carried garbage bags and separated recycled waste. Impressively, at least 95% of the waste generated by the facility is recyclable. This aligns with growing demands across the healthcare industry for responsible manufacturing practices that reduce environmental impact without compromising product safety.

“Our new flagship facility exemplifies TekniPlex Healthcare’s mission of improving patient care through solutions that protect, preserve, and perform,” said Suj Mehta, CEO of TekniPlex Healthcare. “The products manufactured here directly impact patients’ lives. As a dedicated hub, the site not only expands our capacity and provides customers with supply chain assurances, but also serves as a knowledge base to build upon and maximize our leadership in barrier protection materials science.”

Looking ahead, the spacious facility allows for ample near-future expansion opportunities, including existing plans for a second flexographic printer, a cantilevered slitter rewinder, and a reversible salvage rewinder. The company will continue to seek additional capability and capacity enhancements centered at this facility.

TekniPlex Healthcare’s new facility is located at 6002 Femrite Drive in Madison. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 5, which was attended by customers, key suppliers, local Wisconsin officials, and employees, marked its official opening.

With Fourth of July weeks away, the Cap Times assembled a list of where to go for music, parades, food and fireworks to celebrate the holiday.

Verona Festival Foods fireworks show

9:30 p.m.

531 E. Verona Ave., Verona

Kick off your Fourth of July festivities and head over to Hometown USA Festival Park to see a fireworks show light up the sky.

DeForest Fourth of July Celebration

3 p.m. to midnight

Fireman’s Park (at the corner of DeForest Street and South Durkee Street), DeForest

DeForest’s largest summer event has live entertainment, inflatables and a rock wall and will end with a fireworks display at dusk. Want more than just one day of festivities? Return the following day for a Freedom Run (5k, 10k and one-mile fun run), car show and parade.

Norsk Golf Club Fourth of July Celebration

4 p.m.

2755 Norsk Golf Bowl Road, Mount Horeb

The nine-hole golf course and bowling alley will host its ninth anniversary celebration with a full lineup of live music, food stands and a fireworks show at dusk.

Festival Foods fireworks show

9:30 p.m.

2920 N. Sherman Ave., Madison

Stick around after the Madison Mallards game, which starts at 5:35 p.m., and take the field to watch the Festival Foods fireworks show over Warner Park.

WaunaBoom

2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

213 Dorn Drive, Waunakee

The village of Waunakee will host its annual “WaunaBoom” at Ripp Park. The event has live music, a petting zoo, a Black Hawk fly-in by the 147th Aviation Regiment and an F-35 flyover by the 115th Fighter Wing. Free movies will be shown, including “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Incredibles.” The fireworks display, choreographed to music, is at 9:45 p.m. Admission is free.

Fourth Fest at the Edgewater

2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

1001 Wisconsin Place, Madison

Featuring live music from Natty Nation, a tent dedicated to kid-friendly activities and two water shows from the Mad City Water Ski Team on Lake Mendota, the Edgewater will host its annual Fourth Fest.

Fireworks with the Madison Night Mares

4:05 p.m.

2920 N. Sherman Ave., Madison

Madison’s softball team, the Night Mares, will host a fireworks show following the team’s game against the Wausau Ignite. Fans will be welcome on the field after the game to watch the display.

Monona Community Festival

9:20 p.m.

1055 Nichols Road, Monona

Taking place over two days on Thursday and Friday, the Monona Community Festival at Winnequah Park is one of the largest and longest-running Fourth of July celebrations in southern Wisconsin. Admission is free. Fireworks start at dusk.

Last year, organizers announced the festival’s ending due to lack of volunteers, increased costs and new regulations. This January, the festival announced its return. Organizers credited the advocacy of community members (one Facebook group made to “ensure the festival will continue” has over 700 members) and collaboration between outgoing and incoming Monona Community Festival members as ways the festival was saved.

Stoughton Fair

At dusk

400 Mandt Parkway, Stoughton

For day four of the Stoughton Fair — following a day of pie eating contests, a petting zoo and livestock shows — join the festivities at dusk for a fireworks show. The fair will start on Tuesday, July 1, and end on Sunday, July 6. Stoughton Fair is a free community event.

Fire on the River

9:30 p.m.

Sauk City Riverwalk

A fireworks display over the Wisconsin River will close out Fire on the River’s day of live music, family-friendly activities, a beer and wine garden, and a car show.

Isabelle Dunai is reporting for the Cap Times in 2025 as the David Maraniss Fellow. She is pursuing a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Email story ideas and tips to Isabelle at idunai@captimes.com.

Potter Lawson

The proposed development would add 144 housing units in Madison's west side.

A Dane County judge ruled Tuesday that Madison’s city council used “immaterial” criteria when rezoning two west-side properties to make way for a 144-unit housing development on Old Sauk Road, potentially halting progress on a controversial apartment complex.

For the project from Stone House Development to move forward, alders must again rezone the properties in alignment with the criteria specified in the city’s comprehensive plan. In her ruling, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford wrote the city council “failed to consider the factors required” by the plan.

Transcripts from the June 18, 2024, meeting where the council approved the rezoning, Lanford wrote, show that alders did not sufficiently consider relationships between buildings and their “surroundings, natural features, lot and block characteristics,” nor “access to urban services, transit, arterial streets, parks and amenities” to determine if increased residential density was appropriate.

“The City’s failure to do so was unlawful because every Wisconsin city and village must make zoning decisions ‘consistent with that local governmental unit’s comprehensive plan,’” Lanford added.

Lanford has also scheduled a hearing Monday, June 9, to address the petitioners’ request for a temporary injunction to “prohibit the City from issuing any permits and to suspend any permits already issued for the properties,” City Attorney Michael Haas says in an email.

Some west-side residents organized against the Old Sauk proposal prior to its approval, arguing it would increase traffic danger, hamper stormwater management and add inappropriate density to a neighborhood primarily composed of single-family homes. They submitted a petition opposing the redevelopment and hired a civil engineer to study potential stormwater effects from the proposal.

After rezoning was approved, four plaintiffs who live near the proposed building filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s decision in July.

Lanford’s decision marks a victory — if a potentially temporary one — for those residents and a setback for a city looking to add denser housing in the face of a citywide housing crisis. Adding density on Madison’s west side has been a lightning rod issue: in March 2024, angry residents shouted down city staff presenting a draft of the West Area Plan, which suggested rezoning for denser housing in some parts of the area.

Ald. Will Ochowicz, founder of pro-density group Madison is for People, is still optimistic that the proposal will go through.

“If it's just remanding to consider additional criteria, that doesn’t seem like it would be very difficult to do,” says Ochowicz. “And I don't think the outcome will be different.”

Lanford’s decision requires the council to “articulate the reasons for its decision and take another vote,” Haas says. It has not yet been decided when the issue will be placed on the council’s agenda, he adds.

Demolition for the property may continue regardless of the zoning, Haas says. A building permit has not been issued for the property and may only be issued after rezoning is approved, he adds.

[Editor's note: This article has been updated to add a quote from Ald. Will Ochowicz.]

The City of Madison continues its commitment to support the health and well-being of children, families, and the environment through equitable access to nature. This summer Madison will celebrate Nature Everywhere Day on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Nature Everywhere Day is a single-day event that invites people to spend time outdoors and enjoy programs that will take place at locations across the Madison area.

Decades of research reveals that time in nature helps children become healthier, happier, and more successful in school. As Madison continues to grow, local leaders emphasize the importance of access to nature for all children.

More about Nature Everywhere

In 2023, the National League of Cities (NLC) and partners Children & Nature Network (C&NN), and KABOOM! welcomed 19 sites – including the Madison Region – into the Nature Everywhere Communities initiative. These sites are part of a national joint initiative called Nature Everywhere Communities.

Madison’s leadership was recognized in 2024 when the city hosted the Children & Nature Network’s Nature Everywhere International Conference. Madison remains committed to its goals to advance equitable access to the outdoors where children live, learn and play through ongoing collaboration and events like Nature Everywhere Day. This work also aligns with the Wisconsin Outdoor Heritage Resolution (AJR27), which recognizes that every child in Wisconsin should have the opportunity to play and explore in Wisconsin's natural spaces and wild places.

Cannon Design / Insite Consulting Architects

A rear study hall addition is planned for UW-Madison's Science Hall to make the building feel more like a '360 degree building.'

UW-Madison officials are planning to renovate one of the university’s most iconic buildings.

Science Hall, built in 1887, will undergo a historic renovation with interior upgrades and construction of a rear atrium. The project is expected to cost $163.2 million, according to Gillian Drummond, UW-Madison director of public affairs. The renovation will also tackle outstanding “safety, accessibility and deferred maintenance issues,” according to a request for qualified architects created by the Universities of Wisconsin in 2024. The renovation is fully funded by grants and gifts, said Aaron Williams, campus planner and landscape architect for UW-Madison, at a May 22 meeting of the Joint Campus Area Committee.

“One of the main purposes for this project is to restore the building and do some much-needed maintenance to the building,” said Stacy Keller, senior architect at Insite Consulting Architects, a historic architecture firm based in Madison and Washington, D.C. that’s doing design work for the project alongside Chicago-based firm Cannon Design.

The firm plans to add an atrium, intended as a lounge or study space, to the back of the building, which Keller said would assist in making the building feel like “more of a 360 degree building.” She noted that people who need an accessible entrance must currently enter through a back entrance in a space that’s otherwise just a parking lot.

“We really want the space between Radio Hall and the addition to feel more like a plaza, rather than just a rear alleyway,” said Keller. “So we're going to provide the enhancements to make it a nice place that pedestrians want to be and have that clear access between Helen White [Hall] and Bascom Hill.”

Other exterior renovations, according to Keller, are expected to include a brick pathway outside the building’s rear, “full slate roof replacement,” wood window repairs and the potential addition of some storm windows. Green roofs are being floated as an option for the atrium.

The building, which contains the oldest lecture hall on campus still currently in use, houses the campus geography department, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the state Cartographer’s Office. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Ald. MGR Govindarajan, whose district includes the campus, ran an Instagram poll asking for students’ opinions on the atrium addition. Feedback at 4:45 p.m., when the meeting started, was mixed.

“Yay study spaces, but fugly style,” said one commenter. “Glass on bricks, really?”

Another student: “It seems pretty, but like a bit too modern for Science Hall. Maybe better for [the] new Humanities area.”

Govindarajan says in an interview he’s glad there’s another study space planned for the building — “students are desperately in need of more places to study that is not their dorm room or a library” — but isn’t a fan of its proposed look.

“It just doesn't fit the design,” says Govindarajan. “People think about Science Hall and they see this old rustic castle, essentially. [Adding] a sleek, modern white and glass kind of thing to the back with these brand new futuristic lights — that just doesn't fit the vibe very much.”

A request for bids from contractors is tentatively planned for release in September 2026. Construction is planned for February 2027, and substantial completion of the project is expected in February 2029.

[Editor's note: This article was updated to correct the total cost of the renovation. It is expected to be $163.2 million, not $81 million.]