ATC

Stricker joins ATC as Vice President, Audit, Risk Management and Corporate Compliance

Pewaukee, Wis. – Jacob Stricker has joined ATC as vice president, audit, risk management, and corporate compliance overseeing internal audit, corporate ethics, compliance, and risk management. Stricker is also responsible for supporting the board’s audit committee to oversee ATC’s financial reporting system in a process independent of management.

Stricker brings over 20 years of experience focused on compliance, internal audit, risk management and cybersecurity solutions. Prior to joining ATC, he was senior managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and brings experience serving over 25 energy, power and utility clients.

ATC, Milwaukee Bucks donate record 612 trees through Trees for Threes program

ATC donated 612 trees – equal to the number of three-point shots the Milwaukee Bucks made at Fiserv Forum during the 2022-23 regular season – to nearly 120 Wisconsin schools that registered for the 2022-23 Trees for Threes program. The program calls for ATC to donate one tree for every three-pointer the Bucks make at home during the regular season.

To celebrate the culmination of the seventh year of the Trees for Threes program, ATC and the Bucks held a tree planting ceremony at Milwaukee College Prep on May 16. Bango (the Bucks’ mascot), seven Bucks “volun-deers” and seven ATC employee volunteers helped approximately 50 third-grade students from Milwaukee College Prep plant the three trees the school received from the program.

Bucks Executive Vice President of Business Operations and Milwaukee College Prep board member Raven Jemison, ATC Vice President of External Affairs and Communications Greg Levesque and Milwaukee College Prep Principal Robert Rauh gave remarks during the ceremony.

“Congratulations to the Bucks on a record-breaking season of three-pointers,” said Levesque. “Our partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Trees for Threes program continues to be a win for local schools. Planting and learning more about trees can be a valuable STEM lesson for students. ATC is focused on getting the next generation excited about STEM opportunities like those in forestry, environmental ecology, engineering and cybersecurity.”

The Bucks’ 612 threes made at Fiserv Forum this season marked a new franchise record for three-pointers made in a season at home and were tied for third-most by any team in the NBA during the 2022-23 season. The 612 trees were donated to nearly 120 schools in 43 counties across Wisconsin. In seven seasons of the Trees for Threes initiative, the Bucks and ATC have teamed up to donate more than 3,500 trees to help make Wisconsin greener.

Schools receiving trees will also receive a certificate of recognition, a downloadable infographic and worksheet, and a special message from Bango

Solo-Driver Plus takes to the field

Introduced and tested in 2019, Solo-Driver Plus was used on a construction project for the first time in its history. The patent-pending foundation installation method installed 80 caisson foundations to support new steel structures for transmission line rebuild project in Adams and Waushara counties.

Set up and driving takes minutes to accomplish with Solo-Driver Plus with very little ground disturbance, making it faster and more environmentally friendly than traditional installation methods.

After the launch of the initial Solo-Driver design in 2015, a team of engineers focused on evolution of the excavator installed caisson concept.  Solo-Driver Plus’s “H” design provided ATC the opportunity to improve drivability and corrosion resistance as well as simplify fabrication, potentially reducing associated costs.  A second variation was also developed and initially tested that has the potential to be used on more heavily loaded structures.

ATC submitted a patent application for Solo-Driver Plus in February 2023 and anticipates being awarded a final patent sometime in 2024 or 2025. Solo-Driver and Solo-Driver Plus continue to be great examples of ATC’s spirit of innovation.

 

ATC joins nationwide effort to help monarch butterflies

Pewaukee, Wis. – ATC is joining a new nationwide effort to restore and increase the monarch butterfly population.

The monarch butterfly population has shrunk by 80% in the eastern United States since the 1990s due to the loss of habitat and food sources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing the monarch butterfly as threatened or endangered by 2024.

One of Wisconsin’s first utilities to join the National Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for Energy and Transportation Lands, ATC also was one of 45 energy companies and transportation companies who worked with the University of Illinois-Chicago and the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group to develop the voluntary conservation agreement.

Approved by the USFWS in April 2020, the CCAA is the largest agreement of its kind ever developed and represents an unprecedented cross-section collaboration between industries and the USFWS. Over the next two decades the agreement is expected to grow to include millions of acres of land managed nationally by energy companies and departments of transportation across the United States.

Enhancing grid reliability and pollinator habitat

The CCAA recognizes the important work that organizations like ATC are already doing for the monarch butterfly and other pollinators, and it provides an incentive to institutionalize beneficial vegetation management practices.

“Much of the habitat conservation potential of the CCAA already exists in our vegetation management practices,” said Michelle Stokes, ATC’s director of field services. “These practices help ATC prevent tree and power line interactions, maintain compliance with regulations, and increase the reliability of the electric grid.”

ATC’s integrated vegetation management practices already help make its transmission lines rights-of-way suitable for pollinators. Roughly 40% of the over 10,000 miles of transmission line right-of-way ATC manages may currently serve as suitable pollinator habitat and our practices help make these areas suitable for pollinators who benefit from the contiguous flight path that the company’s rights-of-way provide. The company also developed a first-of-its-kind model to map and identify existing suitable pollinator habitat and gaps in pollinator pathways along its transmission lines.

ATC works to ensure that adequate clearances between transmission lines, trees and other vegetation are maintained at all times. To achieve safe clearances in the rights‑of‑way, incompatible vegetation is pruned or removed. Vegetation that is likely to re-sprout after cutting may be treated with herbicides to inhibit re-growth. Targeted herbicides use can help promote the growth of compatible vegetation that can thrive and support a suitable habitat for pollinators like the monarch butterfly and other wildlife.

Existing activities support butterfly habitat

Organizations enrolling in the CCAA also commit to implementing conservation measures that address the key threats under their control and to promote diverse breeding and foraging habitat for the monarch butterfly. These measures include activities ATC is already undertaking like seeding and planting with pollinator mixes, setting aside undisturbed areas for habitat, targeted herbicide application, and conservation mowing activities to minimize impacts to the monarch butterfly.

ATC has used pollinator-enhanced seed mix on over 800 acres of land as part of construction projects since it started tracking acres seeded since 2016. The company has also helped over 30 entities that allow public access to our rights-of-way develop roughly 275 acres of pollinator habitat through our Pollinator Habitat grant program since 2017.

For the past eight years, ATC has helped educate landowners about low-growing, pollinator-friendly perennials and grasses can grow and thrive within transmission line rights-of-way through its Grow Smart® program. The company’s four-acre native prairie surrounding its Pewaukee, Wis., headquarters has been certified as a native landscape by the Wildlife Habitat Council since 2018.

Anyone can grow food for monarch butterflies and caterpillars. Milkweed plants – like butterfly weed, common milkweed and swamp milkweed – are the only food source for monarch butterflies. However, adult monarch butterflies can get the nectar they need from many flowering plants. ATC’s Grow Smart Planting Guide provides recommendations on what to plant to support pollinators.

ATC celebrates International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is an annual holiday intended to celebrate the history and accomplishments of women as well as recognize the existence of inequity for women worldwide. At ATC, we strive to provide intentional resources and benefits to female employees that support their careers, personal life and passions. You can read more about the benefits we offer all employees by viewing our careers site. 

In acknowledgement of International Women’s Day, we’ve compiled quotes from three of the many female employees at ATC who serve as positive role models to women and girls everywhere. Read their stories below. 

“The reward of being a working mom is being able to lead by example. My kids get to see me as a professional – unafraid to take on challenges, speak, and be heard. When looking for a hero or someone to look up to, they don’t have to look outside of their home.” – Rita, ATC project specialist 

“Women are just as capable of holding science, technology, engineering and math positions as men and should not be shut out of these often higher-paying jobs. I can’t show enough appreciation for women who have blazed the trail before me and how they have made my time in STEM easier.” – Christine, ATC senior project manager 

“I started at ATC almost 17 years ago, unmarried and without children. Now as a mom of two boys, ATC continues to support me and enables me to grow my career. I continue to provide for my family, feeling challenged and valued as a woman (not just “mom”) in a fulfilling career with people that genuinely care about and advocate for my success.” – Marcia, ATC regional manager