About Us – Dairyland Electrical Industries

At Dairyland, we are dedicated to solving problems. We take pride in our resourcefulness and ability to connect with customers to develop innovative solutions for the toughest industry problems. That is why, in 2025, Dairyland created new Market Segment Manager roles within the company to build upon our relationships in the pipeline and electric utility industries. These positions are designed to create a tighter connection to the inner workings of each industry, bringing deeper knowledge of the challenges our customers face and ensuring Dairyland remains a trusted, informed partner in solving them.

Here, Phil Eggen, Market Segment Manager of Pipelines, and Mason Spang, Market Segment Manager of Electric Utilities, discuss their roles and explain how they deliver to customers the expertise needed to help solve their complex industry problems.

What exactly is a Market Segment Manager?

Mason: A Market Segment Manager (MSM) is a dedicated resource to Dairyland and the customers of a specific market. MSMs are able to take a step back from individual accounts and find what larger changes need to occur to best serve the entire market. Understanding what problems matter most to customers is the foundation. From there, MSMs work internally at Dairyland to build solutions.

Phil: Simply put, a Market Segment Manager represents the voice of the customer for a specific market. When an MSM is truly in tune with this voice, Dairyland will be able to deliver solutions for the right problems that customers are most concerned about.

How does this differ from the role of Dairyland’s Business Development team?

Phil: The Business Development (BD) team will coordinate and deliver solutions to our partners in the industry that our products can solve. BD builds meaningful relationships with distributors and individual accounts to ensure their needs are being met. They are connected to the industry through various conferences, in-person visits, and personalized training—and they keep tabs on larger projects that may need some direction of product selection or design support.

Market Segment Managers look at the market holistically to understand what common problems are shared between customers. We then work with internal teams to find a solution for that problem. This solution can range from something as significant as a new product launch or can be simpler in nature—but still impactful—such as clearer communication materials. MSMs also ensure that Dairyland products remain well positioned within each market and review feedback to determine if improvements are needed.

Why is Dairyland committed to better understanding the pipeline and electric utility industries?

Mason: In the electric utility market, Dairyland’s origins trace back to the relationships built within the industry — stemming from early work solving stray voltage issues on agricultural facilities. Fast forward to the present, where we’ve realized that now more than ever, electric utilities could benefit from our expertise in isolation and electrical interference solutions. As inverter-based resources continue to grow, right-of-way corridors become more congested, and demand for power increases, the company recognized that we are uniquely positioned to help.

Phil: In the pipeline market, Dairyland has always strived to understand what problems our customers are facing and how we can help. It’s in our mission to be a trusted leader in specialized electrical solutions, and the pipeline industry is a large focus of our attention to be innovative for this market. Summed up in a few words we like to say: “We are here to help”.

How does Dairyland make sure the customer’s voice gets heard?

Mason: Dairyland is very intentional about making sure the feedback from our customers and partners is heard. We attend dozens of tradeshows and conferences around the world to make it easy for customers to talk with us on their most pressing issues. At Dairyland, we strive to be great listeners and ask the right questions that get to the root of our customers’ problems.

Phil: Dairyland is committed to working with our customers to find out their problems and then determine if our team of experts can provide a solution. We have recently rolled out a new internal process called Core Technology Innovation Development (CTID). This process starts from any idea that comes into Dairyland; evaluating it to see if it fits with our core design philosophy of providing specialized electrical solutions, and if it does, we work to develop the product. This is a joint effort, led by the MSM department, with input from business development and engineering departments. While Dairyland has been successful with developing solutions for our customers’ problems in the past, this new process puts more up-front emphasis on listening closely to truly understand the root of the issue. Once confirmed, we then work to provide a solution that meets their needs.

What is your background as it pertains to the market you oversee?

Phil: I have been at Dairyland for almost six years, working with customers in numerous industries to apply our products for their various applications. In this time, I have come to appreciate the complexities that come from the variety of situations where decouplers can be used to help solve CP system issues.

Prior to joining Dairyland, I held a variety of roles within the pipeline industry. For nearly 15 years, I worked for a major gas utility company, where I gained an understanding of how transmission and distribution piping systems are operated and maintained. At the gas utility company, I was introduced to cathodic protection and have now been in the CP industry for over 17 years. Before joining Dairyland, I worked as a consultant in the CP industry, helping customers with AC mitigation and CP designs and surveys.

Mason: I joined Dairyland in 2025 with a technical background in Engineering Physics and experience in asset management. Prior to Dairyland, I helped develop solutions alongside utilities to predict failures of circuit breakers, transformers, and back-up batteries. I am active in a variety of IEEE Power and Energy Society Committees related to electrical interference challenges. These include the IEEE 1695 Stray and Contact Voltage, IEEE 2746 AC Interference on Linear Facilities, and AMPP SC11 on Electric Power.

What do you do to keep a pulse and maintain credibility within your market?

Phil: I try to be active in a variety of ways to stay in front of issues related to the pipeline market. The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) offers numerous options to keep in touch with issues and allows input from operators, consultants, construction groups, and product manufacturers. I am active with my local AMPP chapter in Chicago, and also attend several AMPP conferences across the country. In addition, I keep apprised of the standards that AMPP maintains and I offer my opinion and expertise where necessary.

Mason: People who are in the industry can attest that continuous education and awareness of emerging technologies is critical for success. I maintain credibility by attending conferences, participating in committees, and engaging in educational webinars to gather a variety of information and perspectives on our industries’ challenges. Most importantly, I maintain a pulse on the market by visiting with partners and customers to talk in real time about the challenges they face.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Mason: Meeting customers where they are is at the core of what Dairyland does. Whether that means getting boots on the ground in your substation or simply picking up the phone, we are always ready to show up. Beyond solving problems, we are happy to bring value to your team by provided educational training sessions on topics such as DC electrical interference or AC mitigation. If this is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Phil: I can’t emphasize enough the saying “We are here to help”. If you have something that has you scratching your head or a problem others can’t figure out, give us a call or reach out through our online portal and we’ll look into it.

If you’re wrestling with a problem, and would like to consult with Dairyland’s Market Segment Managers, please contact us here.

Contact Phil (Pipeline Market) Contact Mason (Electric Utility Market)

Stoughton, WI – Dairyland Electrical Industries is honored to be the winner of the 2025 Best Places to Work in Manufacturing award, presented by Best Companies Group.

Best Places to Work in Manufacturing is a research-driven program administered by Best Companies Group that evaluates workplace excellence through a comprehensive review of company practices, programs, and benefits, paired with direct employee feedback. Evaluation criteria focus on leadership, corporate culture, role satisfaction, work environment, training and development, compensation and benefits, and overall employee engagement.

Team members at the Dairyland Pound location dress as their favorite Dairyland Cow during spirit week 2025

In 2024, Dairyland was named Wisconsin Best Place to Work in Manufacturing by Insight Publications after entering the program as part of its Operation Great Place (OGP) initiative. OGP was launched to build on Dairyland’s strong workplace reputation by fostering a culture that supports employee attraction, engagement, retention, and a shared sense of purpose. Participation in the Wisconsin program provided an opportunity to benchmark progress and performance.

To continue measuring progress and employee satisfaction, Dairyland entered the national Best Places to Work in Manufacturing program after the Wisconsin-specific award paused for 2025.

On Tuesday, February 3, Dairyland team members gathered in person to watch the virtual awards ceremony together and celebrate the moment. Competing on a nationwide stage, Dairyland was honored to be ranked #1 among manufacturing organizations across the country.

We invest deeply in culture because people matter. When people feel valued, supported, and connected to purpose, they do their best work, and that creates meaningful benefits for our customers and communities. This recognition affirms what we believe to be true: strong culture and strong results are not an either/or choice, they are a powerful both/and. I’m grateful for everyone at Dairyland who lives out our values daily and makes our culture real. —Amy Wedell, Programs & Systems Senior Manager

About Dairyland Electrical Industries

At Dairyland, we cultivate innovation to deliver rugged and reliable solutions. Addressing a wide range of complex electrical problems, we engineer our highly specialized products to provide safety protection for assets and personnel across numerous industries. Backed by third-party certifications to standards around the world, Dairyland manufactures products to the highest quality, ensuring unmatched performance. We are dedicated to understanding our customers’ needs and providing reliable products and service. If a solution to your problem does not yet exist, we’ll work to find one. Our experienced team excels at finding innovative solutions for your toughest problems.

Beyond our products, we use business as a force for good to support our vision to make a safer world. We do this by volunteering locally in our communities and working with non-profit organizations that provide safety and stability for people around the world. We believe that by working together, we can expand our reach and create more opportunities to enhance the quality of life for others.

Stoughton, WI – Dairyland Electrical Industries is pleased to formally announce recent changes to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

In early September of last year, Dairyland’s Executive Leadership Team underwent a transformation. Below is a summary of the changes to the team.

Ken Schuh (left) was promoted to Executive Vice President of Strategic Growth. For over 12 years, Ken worked as Dairyland’s EVP of Operations. Ken is well-suited for his new role, as he seeks to bring Dairyland more holistically to new and existing markets.

Robert Whitehouse (second from left) is the newest member of the team; he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations. Robert has been with Dairyland for over two years, leading our supply chain team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role.

Kailey Tachick’s title now more accurately reflects her duties at Dairyland. She is the Executive Vice President of Finance, Systems, and Culture.

Please join us in congratulating each of them.

Stoughton, WI – Dairyland Electrical Industries is honored to be the winner of the 2024 Wisconsin Best Places to Work in Manufacturing award, presented by Insight On Manufacturing.

“I am so proud of our team! This could never be done by one or two people – it is a lived, believed, whole-company effort of intentionality.” –Mike Tachick, President

This year, Dairyland launched project “Operation Great Place.” This initiative set out to build on their reputation as a great workplace by fostering a culture that strengthens employee attraction, engagement, retention, and sense of purpose. The project team set out to understand what draws people to Dairyland, why they choose to stay, and how their experience can be made better. Through this process, it was discovered that the Dairyland team is highly motivated by strong relationships and purpose-driven work.

To capitalize on these insights, they created an attraction and retention strategy that includes clear messaging about our culture, values, and benefits for both recruiting and internal engagement. A ‘fun and togetherness’ plan was also introduced, and the team entered the ‘Best Places to Work in Manufacturing in Wisconsin’ competition to benchmark standing and progress.

“Winning this award affirms that Dairyland is truly an exceptional place to work, and we’re excited to continue building on this success.” –Amy Wedell, Programs & Systems Senior Manager, and Jen Merryman, Inside Sales Representative II (Project Managers of Operation Great Place)

“At Dairyland, culture is a guiding philosophy, a core component of how we define quality, and an intentional long-term investment because we believe it matters tremendously. That is why it felt so meaningful to receive this award, which thoroughly assesses company culture from programs and benefits to the direct employee experience. Every organization has a culture; the question becomes what that culture looks, sounds, or feels like and whether it can be sustained over time. I am proud of the culture we are building together at Dairyland as we look at all areas of the business, our purpose for existence, and our work together as we earnestly strive to use business for good. Our lives are too short and precious – and the world’s needs too great – for any other way of doing business.” –Kailey Tachick, Executive Vice President of Finance, Systems, & Culture

Insight Publications’ mission is connecting minds and creating insights by offering dynamic, creative platforms for sharing business news and information – from magazines and events to digital messaging and marketing partnerships.

Dozens of manufacturers across the state of Wisconsin were considered as part of Insight Publications’ inaugural Best Places to Work in Manufacturing program. An independent survey was conducted by Workforce Research Group, which sought to help employers benchmark their employee benefits and company culture. Ten companies were ultimately selected to be honored on November 13, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI.

About Dairyland Electrical Industries

Madison, WI – Dairyland Electrical Industries is proud to be selected as a finalist for In Business magazine’s 2023 Business of the Year (1-50 Employees) and Corporate Citizen of the Year awards.

Dairyland is the world’s leading manufacturer of solid-state decoupling products across multiple industries. Since its start in 1983, Dairyland’s goal has been to make a safer world by using business as a force for good. This is accomplished not only through the rugged and reliable products they manufacture, but also their exceptional customer service and support, paid volunteer hours for employees to make a different in their own communities, and financial partnerships with local and global organizations.

“We are honored to be selected as a finalist for both In Business awards,” said Mike Tachick, President of Dairyland Electrical Industries. “Congratulations to each of our fellow finalists and winners; you are well deserving of these honors. I would like to specifically express my appreciation to the Dairyland team for the work you do daily that is well deserving of praise and recognition. At Dairyland we strive to create an environment where our team is excited to come to work and contribute their expertise to make a safer world. Thank you to the Madison community for this recognition; we intend to continue to use business as a force for good to serve in ways that ripple throughout the community and around the world.”

In Business magazine, which is the premier business-to-business publication of the Greater Madison region, celebrated the Madison area’s most successful organizations and influential executives at its inaugural Business of the Year award ceremony on December 4, 2023 at the Edgewater Hotel. Over 250 executives and guests were in attendance.

About Dairyland Electrical Industries

Over a range of industries and applications, Dairyland has been applying the concepts of isolation, grounding, and over-voltage protection to standard and custom products since 1983. Dairyland deals with a wide variety of applications across multiple industries including oil and gas, power utility, railroad, and others where it is necessary to provide simultaneous isolation and safety grounding. Dairyland products isolate DC current, ground AC fault current and lightning, and protect equipment and personnel.

At Dairyland, we cultivate innovation to deliver rugged and reliable solutions.

Addressing a wide range of complex electrical problems, we engineer our highly specialized products to provide safety protection for assets and personnel across numerous industries. Backed by third-party certifications to standards around the world, Dairyland manufactures products to the highest quality, ensuring unmatched performance.

Product innovation has played a key role in Dairyland’s success for over 40 years. In 1983, Henry Tachick started the business with a creative solution to an industry problem, and innovation has remained a core value of Dairyland’s business ever since. Our solution-oriented mindset is key part of our commitment to serving customers with rugged and reliable solutions, and it starts at the very beginning – with our new product development process.

We are dedicated to understanding our customers’ needs and providing reliable products and service. If a solution to your problem does not yet exist, we’ll work to find one. Connect with us or call 608-877-9900.

For over 40 years, Dairyland’s innovative mindset has helped our team turn creative ideas into unique solutions that meet the changing needs of our customers. Here we share what innovation means to us, how it’s formed our company over decades, and how it will propel us into the future.

Innovative From the Beginning

Dairyland got its start in 1983 because of a clear customer need and an engineer with an inventive mindset. Henry Tachick was approached with a specific problem facing local dairy farmers and utility providers, and he saw an opportunity to find a solution through innovative product design. His idea was an electrical isolation device that would end up not only solving the issue but also setting the stage for future product development. As the years progressed, Henry always kept one ear to the ground: listening, observing, and searching for new ideas, which is how Dairyland eventually found its way into the corrosion industry as well as the marine, power utility, and railroad markets.

Continued innovation led to a growing product line designed to meet the needs of new markets and customers. From our first product, the Neutral Isolator, stemmed the ISP, PCR, OVP, and the larger catalog of products and accessories we have today. Every product continuation or variation was brought to life because there was a customer need, which triggered an opportunity for Dairyland. Dairyland remains committed to developing products that solve real issues.

How You Make It Matters

Dairyland aims to serve our customers through innovative product design. But developing rugged and reliable products takes a commitment to an intensive research and development (R&D) process. Often ideas are brought to us through our industry colleagues or identified by our staff members through their technical support sessions or customer interactions. We insert all these ideas into a vetting process affectionately called “The Grinder”. Throughout an active process of discovery, we seek to fully research any idea or concept and prove out long-term viability of a potential product design. This thorough vetting helps ensure that we fully understand the problem we are trying to solve and helps us identify specific customer needs for any product we may design.

“We operate on a different timeline in our industry, allowing the time to truly understand problems and invest in solutions or ideas. Unlike other consumer-type industries that must change virtually every day to keep pace”
Randy Hilgart, Engineering Manager

Once a problem has been clearly identified and vetted, we start down the new product development (NPD) process that is overseen by our experienced engineering department. This process is collaborative and includes key stakeholders from many departments within the company. The process starts with identifying an opportunity and project planning before progressing into a detailed, advanced development phase that includes prototyping, design reviews, testing and simulations, and continued market analysis all to ensure the final product design meets or exceeds customer expectations.

Third-Party Verification: Critical to Rugged Product Design

Despite our thorough prototyping and internal testing process, at Dairyland, we consider third-party certification to be a required step of the product design process. Nearly every product we design is sent through intense examination and testing by third party labs to any applicable standards and requirements. This process can often be lengthy and expensive, but we do it so our customers can be assured that our products do what we claim they do.

Third-party testing will remain a critical component of product design at Dairyland as we aim to offer intentional, rugged solutions that have reliable performance and long-term lifespans.

As we’ve done for the last 40 years, Dairyland will continue to pursue innovation, working efficiently to serve the needs of our customers. We are grateful for the relationships that we have built within the industries that we serve and look forward to developing additional products that help enhance lives and make a safer world. If a solution to your problem does not yet exist, we’ll work to find one. Connect with us or call 608-877-9900.

In 2013, Dairyland Electrical Industries was rebranding itself. While doing market research and evaluating our place in the industry, we learned that we were simply known within the industry as “Dairyland” and our varying decouplers were not necessarily called by their names but bore the Dairyland moniker too (like how all lip balm products are referred to as Chapstick, regardless of which company made it).

With this knowledge in mind, Dairyland’s marketing team updated their visual identity, replacing their “DEI” mark with the “D” logo and Dairyland design that we still use to this day. We wanted to communicate our new identity and emphasize our company’s beginnings, where we started by solving stray voltage on dairy farms.

While looking around for promotional items to hand out at industry events and conferences, Dairyland’s marketing manager happened to come across a four-legged squishy cow (OG Cow) and decided it would be a great piece of swag to bear the new Dairyland logo. He figured it would be something the company would do for six months at most, and then they would move on to the next thing. The industry, however, had different plans.

We took the newly minted OG Cow to a regional tradeshow where the inventory was very quickly depleted (We’re sure you’ve heard the adage about pigs flying. Well, these cows were flying). We were udderly astounded. Those in the industry could not get enough of our four-legged friend, and we quickly decided that more cows would be needed.

Fast-forward to 2014. The original cows had been such a hit throughout their debut year and the Dairyland team knew they wanted to keep things moo-ving. They had an idea: give the cows a theme that correlates to where they’ll be given away. The San Antonio NACE conference was quickly approaching that year, and Dairyland had plans to host 100+ friends and colleagues at a Texas rodeo. At the event, those guests were officially introduced to Cowboy Cow. The continued popularity gave rise to other themed cows over the years, such as Hockey, Business, Beach, Golf, Doctor, Soccer, Astronaut, and most recently, Aviator Cow. Most recently we have added each cow to our “About Us” page where they have their own profile and bio for you to learn more about them. What will we come up with next?

Since our start in 1983, Dairyland has grown to be an industry leader, with products sold into more than 80 countries, solving a wide variety of application challenges. Customers around the globe trust us to provide them with safe, reliable products that work in the harshest technical and environmental challenges that they face. What makes our products so dependable? It starts with our design motto: ALWAYS RUGGED.

BUILDING PRODUCTS THAT LAST

At Dairyland, our goal is to make a safer world. We work tirelessly to deliver to our customers the safest, most reliable products on the market.

Our product design philosophy is quite simple: we strive to build decouplers that last, are easy to use, and need no regular maintenance.

Building products that deliver on the Always Rugged promise requires extensive effort across many departments. Product development begins in our engineering department where our teams use a detailed research and development process to conservatively design products that exceed all reasonable field conditions. Once initial designs are completed, products go through extensive testing in numerous real-world conditions and we gather feedback directly from prospective customers for a refinement phase, ensuring that the final product brought to market is impeccably designed and easy to use.

Robust designs are just the first step. Next, our supply chain department sources quality parts to meet tight specifications. We look closely for partners that have robust quality systems, treat their employees well, and maintain professional, well-kept manufacturing spaces. This won’t always mean selecting the cheapest materials, but it leads to well-built, quality components that we can rely on – part of our Always Rugged philosophy.

Finally, our manufacturing team uses detailed quality assurance programs to guarantee that all products are built to the highest quality. From refined processes to inspection and product testing, our teams are dedicated to ef ficiently and consistently building high-quality products. Dairyland is also certified to ISO 9001:2015 quality requirements, ensuring that all processes are regularly evaluated, audited, and improved upon, resulting in premium manufacturing capabilities.

ALWAYS RUGGED VERIFICATION

Decouplers are critical for protecting expensive assets and keeping personnel and the public safe, and we hold ourselves to a very high Always Rugged standard. With this much on the line, you need to be certain that your decouplers will perform as specified.

Confirming that Dairyland products do what we say they do is our top priority. We maintain an extensive list of internationally recognized third-party product certifications, which verify that our products conform to the recommended electrical and safety codes, and confirm their performance against harsh conditions. Despite the cost and time commitment associated with maintaining these certifications, we insist upon it because it’s important. Our customers can rest assured that their Dairyland products meet all critical performance requirements, fail-safe operation, and address hazardous location needs to ensure product performance, longevity, and safety

PERFORMANCE YOU CAN TRUST

We are working hard to make a safer world, but we’re not finished yet. Dairyland products are used across the globe to address complex application challenges and maintain a failure rate of less than 0.01%. When you invest in Dairyland products you’ll receive premium products that are suited for extreme conditions, resulting in protection for your equipment and safety for your personnel. We’re excited to support you along the way.

Dairyland’s company vision can be summarized simply as, “to make a safer world”. This objective is carried out in a variety of ways across the company, but one team in particular works on the front lines. Our business development team interfaces directly with distributors, corrosion specialists, technicians, and engineers to help solve complex performance and safety challenges in the energy industry.

At Dairyland, business development isn’t just about selling great products. More importantly, we pride ourselves on being a reliable resource for complete technical guidance on applications and products associated with isolation, grounding, over-voltage protection, and related issues. Our team has over 75 years of technical experience and an in-depth knowledge of Dairyland product offerings and industry solutions. We make sure your technical questions, application challenges, or product inquiries are thoroughly researched, and that you know how to proceed – even if you don’t end up needing our products.

Education and sharing of our technical expertise shapes our business development team significantly.

We are frequent presenters at seminars both domestically and internationally; attending or speaking at over 30 tradeshows annually. If you can’t meet us at an industry event, you can join our team online for one of our webinars. If your problem is more specific, you may need to contact our team directly at techsupport@dairyland.com for questions unique to your application.

At Dairyland, we are dedicated to understanding our customers’ needs and providing reliable products and service. If a solution to your problem does not yet exist, we’ll work to find one. Connect with us or call 608-877-9900.

Our experienced team excels at finding innovative solutions for your toughest problems.

Supply chain practices are critical to developing the rugged and reliable products that our customers depend on. At Dairyland, we’ve placed an emphasis on sourcing quality parts from trusted suppliers from the very beginning. Our supply chain team is a critical component for delivering premium quality products to our customers on time.

Creating a supply chain process that adds value to our customers entails more than most people realize. This includes managing supplier relationships in addition to monitoring manufacturing, scheduling, and production processes. It also serves as a critical strategic function involving risk management, monitoring of global climates and political actions, reviewing of precious metal indexes, and more. Careful analysis is a part of a supply chain strategy that ensures our products are built and delivered to the standard you expect.

One of the more notable areas that sets Dairyland apart is in the selection of our suppliers. Suppliers work as an extension of Dairyland and we hold them to a high standard that aligns with our values.

One of the ways we do this is through regular and thorough supplier visits. During these audits, our suppliers’ quality systems are extensively reviewed, ensuring they perform to the standards that they claim. However, supplier visits are about more than their processes. Often the most valuable insight comes from things they don’t know are being evaluated. We speak with employees from all departments—from the front office through production—about their work life and watch for signs of employee health, safety, and clean working environments.

While our supply chain strategy is multifaceted, the focus throughout remains consistent – we thoroughly and rigorously manage every aspect with our customers in mind. The result is clear: quality rugged and reliable products.