Manuel Altúzar

Frank Lloyd Wright famously wrote about his love for the Wisconsin countryside. When speaking of the almost mystical allure this landscape held over him, he felt the sight of red barns and herds of cattle were as worthy of admiration as the low hills and fertile valleys of the Driftless. This idyllic snapshot of pastoral Wisconsin may be, in some ways, a relic of the past, but the way Wisconsinites feel so rooted to the land here is something that transcends time and technological innovation. Even those who have never set foot on a farm seem to feel that connection to our history: we are America’s Dairyland.

Bridging the gap from ideal to practical are folks like Manuel Altúzar, founder of Globaltranz Consulting, a company that specializes in connecting agricultural workers with farmers within the dairy industry here in the Midwest.

Manuel, or Mannie, is very passionate about life. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart,” he says, and credits his father with imparting this attitude to him, encouraging him to look at every day as an opportunity. This is a trend you’ll notice in any conversation with Mannie–he is always ready to give credit to the people who helped him on his way. This genuine humility is paired with an indomitable spirit and attitude of adaptability that has allowed his business ventures to not only weather changing markets but thrive and grow at every turn.

Mannie graduated from UW–Madison in 1996 and founded his company the very same year. Globaltranz Consulting currently operates in 26 states, but this booming business has its roots in a paper he wrote while still in college. An assignment for a business class led him to write about the changing demographics in the United States. “Thirty years ago I already knew there was going to be a big problem finding employees to work in different areas,” says Mannie. His professor pointed out that he could rewrite the paper concentrating only in the agricultural industry, and that was the birth of his business plan.

Globaltranz Consulting began as a translation and interpretation company. The story of how it evolved is a testimony to Mannie’s commitment to letting his business grow in the way it needs to grow and his openness to listening to others rather than rigidly adhering to certain ideas about what the business ‘should’ be.

“When you start your own company it’s like having a baby,” Mannie shares. It keeps growing, developing its own personality, and eventually may start telling you what it wants you to do rather than the other way around. “We have to be able to adapt.”

In 2008 when the market crashed, Globaltranz lost a lot of their translation work, but then they started getting calls from hospitals in need of interpreters, so they transitioned into a full-time staffing company. Another opportunity to adapt came when a chance meeting over lunch with a farmer in Sauk City inspired Mannie to pivot towards pairing agricultural employees with the farmers who depend on them.

With this decision, he knew he’d have to take advantage of digital tools, like Facebook, to connect with his clients, and that’s how he came to WARF’s UpStart entrepreneurship program. Two things stand out when Mannie talks about his experience with UpStart: his gratitude for all the information that the class provided, and his ongoing appreciation for the way the UpStart community has kept in touch all these years, continuing to support and promote him. . “I’m very happy that I call them my friends” Mannie says, speaking to the long-term commitment and relationship that UpStart cultivates with every entrepreneur they take under their wings. “I tell anyone who has ears to learn about this program.”

“I truly love my job,” Mannie says when asked what inspires and keeps him going. “I really feel in touch with Wisconsin.” Farming as a way of life is such a deeply-rooted aspect of Wisconsin life, he adds, that through the connections he cultivates with Globaltranz, “I feel like I’m helping our economy grow.”

Connect with Mannie online via his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dairy