Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) expects almost half of all U.S. homeowners to be underwater -- figuratively, of course -- by 2011.

Declines in home prices and the fact that some of those difficult mortgages just aren't going away put 26% of homeowners in this situation by the end of last March, and it seems the situation is only going to get worse. Unlike the early stages of the credit crisis, which were driven by subprime mortgages, the next iteration will have a greater effect on prime mortgage borrowers, which comprise two-thirds of the loans outstanding.

Park Falls Wisconsin is just like any of the hundreds of other bustling small towns across America. At least, it was until Monday July 14, 2008. That was the day when it was announced that the Department of Energy had awarded a $30 million grant for the construction and operation of a bio-refinery at the existing Flambeau River Papers, pulp and paper mill. The project shall be a show piece, and the first of it's kind.

The Park Falls Herald reported that, when in full operation, the bio-refinery is expected to produce a minimum of six million gallons of sulfur-free diesel fuel annually from nonfood-based, timber and agricultural waste materials. Additionally, the bio-refinery is expected to generate at least one trillion BTUs of process heat annually, which will be sold directly to the paper mill. That exchange is expected to make Flambeau River Papers the first integrated pulp and paper mill in North America essentially free of fossil fuel usage.

The project is expected to reach operational status by 2010, and is also expected to garner the close attention of alternative energy investors and governments world wide. The project is, in part, a response to the current presidential administration's nationwide call for increased energy independence without additional pressure being placed upon the food supply. It is widely hoped that these types of refinery operations shall soon be considered for development in other suitable locations across the country.

In keeping with its typical marketing flavor, Harley Davidson Inc., (NYSE: HOG) wants its newly opened Harley Davidson museum to be more about the rider's experience than just the ride. The company wants its museum to be a lifestyle exploration adventure, rather than a commercial presentation. While the new attraction indeeds feature hundreds of motorcycles, reams of vintage Harley Davidson advertising and other Harley memorabilia, in an article published by Business Week, museum director, Stacey Schiesl is quoted as stating: "It's not just about what's inside."

It's always been that way with Harley Davidson. In strong years and lean years, the company had always taken the experience of its enthusiasts very seriously. That is why the museum was designed and constructed to be enjoyed in a manner that stimulates what Harley owners like most about their bikes. It's a feeling of camaraderie. It's a sharing of an experience. It's good will and good times on a piece of open road. Architects designed the site to reflect and embody a feeling of Main Street Americana, with accommodations for up to 15,000 bikes at any given time.

The Harley Davidson Museum is a testimonial to 105 years of American made motorcycle greatness. Even in the face of tough times, with the company forecasting slowed earnings and reduced production, it's good to see that it has maintained its successful focus: to create both a visual and a tangible motorcycling lifestyle experience for all motorcycle enthusiasts to enjoy.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

Oshkosh B'Gosh, the well-known children's clothing manufacturer, was founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1895. As are most of the cities in Wisconsin's Fox River Valley, Oshkosh was incubated first on the fur trade in the early 1800s, then was built upon the railroads and the lumber industry, and finally, it rests on light and medium manufacturing and the pursuit of higher education and culture. Currently, Oshkosh has a population in the neighborhood of 65,000, and it covers more than 24 square miles.

Oshkosh B'Gosh is probably the best-known namesake of its home city. Though the company's manufacturing operations have been moved away, it still maintains its corporate headquarters there. The company began as a manufacturer of sturdy clothes for working people, most especially its trademark overalls. It wasn't until the mail-order company Miles Kimball featured Oshkosh B'Gosh overalls in one of its catalogs that the company moved its products into retail stores. At that time, Oshkosh B'Gosh expanded its children's clothing line, which would eventually become the company's mainstay.

Two other companies have carried the name Oshkosh to great heights in the business world. One is Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), formerly called Oshkosh Truck, and the other was Chief Oshkosh Beer. However, perhaps the most renowned feature of Oshkosh is the yearly Experimental Aircraft Association Airventure air show (EAA). During that annual event, Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, becomes the busiest airport in the world.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

"It is a place where simple things, done well, will never be out of style." Those are the words of Walter Kohler, Sr., as he envisioned the creation of one of the first planned communities to be built in this country. In 1913, Kohler Company initiated its plan to move its manufacturing operations from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, onto a tract of countryside farmland it purchased for its new industrial complex.

The village of Kohler slowly took shape around the company's industrial complex. It featured all the necessities for fulfilling community life. Single and two family homes were constructed, utilizing lumber from the Paine Lumber Company in Oshkosh. The village included a proper school, a village hall and dormitory housing for unmarried workers. During this time, Kohler Company established itself as a world leading supplier of plumbing products.

When Walter Kohler, Sr., was shaping the vision for his company town, he visited garden cities across the globe and incorporated the desire for natural beauty into his plans. Working with the Olmsted Brothers, designers of New York's Central Park, Kohler made a 50-year plan to provide gardens and green spaces within the new company village. Kohler's second 50-year plan for green space was then established under the guidance of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The result of this careful oversight has been the creation of a village with deep respect for its natural surroundings and which is laced with gardens of beauty.

This post opens our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered. Watch for more Big Company, Small Town posts coming soon.

All across this great country of ours, small cities, towns, and villages have been built in the shadows of major companies that supply work for their local populations. It can be a wonderful situation that cultivates a special kind of community and a deep-seated local pride. However, it can also be a recipe for civic disaster, if the major supplier of a wage base in a locality goes out of business or leaves town. Such was the near disastrous fate of Park Falls, Wisconsin, not so long ago.

The city of Park Falls, which is Wisconsin's most geographically isolated city, was built around its paper mill. At its height, the mill helped to bring the population of the city to nearly 4,000 inhabitants. However, in 2006 the paper mill, which was operating at reduced capacity under ownership from out of state, was shut down almost without any prior notice. The result was immediate and deeply wrenching turmoil. Not only had the paper mill workers lost an excellent source of income, but the collateral damage was jarringly significant also. Loggers had no local market for their pulp wood. Dozens of family-feeding log trucks were idled. Private contractors who did various types of work for the mill were left with thousands of dollars worth of unpaid invoices. Local vendors, retailers, and support businesses almost immediately went slack.

Cheese, corn, beer -- that's what most of us think when we hear the name Wisconsin. But the three Wisconsin-based companies that made Fortune's 2007 list of 100 fastest growing companies -- Ladish Inc. (NASDAQ: LDSH), Joy Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG), and Regal Beloit Corp. (NYSE: RBC) -- are manufacturers that have nothing to do directly with cheese, corn, or beer.

Wisconsin does lead the nation in cheese production. Heck, two of those three items -- cheese, corn, and beer -- even appear on the Wisconsin design state quarter. Despite Wisconsin's reputation as an agricultural state, though, agriculture isn't the largest part of the state economy. Tourism is also an important industry in Wisconsin, with such destinations as the Wisconsin Dells, Circus World and the House on the Rock, but that's not the leading sector either. Manufacturing makes up the largest part of the Wisconsin economy, as the companies on Fortune's list indicate.

At number 21 on the list of the fastest growing companies was aerospace components maker Ladish, which is headquartered in Cudahy, Wisconsin. Ladish's three-year annual revenue growth rate was 28% and its five-year earnings per share growth was 104%. Back in July, Ladish reported a strong second quarter, beating expectations, and a solid outlook for rest of the year. Then, in August, the company announced that it would expand its operations in Poland. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial consider Ladish a buy. The share price reached a 52-week high of $60.00 on Tuesday. It was trading in the mid $20s a year ago.

Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) is boasting advances in lithium ion battery technology that is enabling automakers worldwide to successfully create and sustain the new breed of high-efficiency automobiles. Remember, these new hybrids and plug-ins are useless without adequate and dependable, long-life power sources to support them. Since January 2006, Johnson Controls has sought to make lithium ion batteries the chosen power pack for future energy efficient vehicles. I'm pleased to report that they have met with admirable success.

Earlier this month, Johnson Controls accepted a development contract with General Motors to develop and test lithium ion batteries for use in GM's Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid SUV. Concentrated development efforts begun in January 2006 by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Systems (JCS) have come to the point where JCS was able to install and display a fully integrated lithium ion battery system in a prototype hybrid-electric SUV at the 2007 North American International Auto Show.

Alan Mumby, president and general manager of Johnson Controls hybrid battery business, states: "We are thrilled to be a key player in enabling tomorrow's green technologies". The JCS lithium ion battery laboratory, situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the only dedicated facility in the world focused exclusively on developing lithium ion technology for use in hybrid vehicles.

At least partial funding of the JCS lithium ion battery development project has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy in furtherance of the Freedom CAR and Fuel Partnership project. The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) is also a driving force in this effort. USCAR is a development and research effort operating with the combined forces of Americas big three automakers. This all speaks well of our friends in American auto manufacturing. Breathe easy America, they're working on it.

Enterprise zone tax credits for Harley Davidson Motor Company (NYSE: HOG) in the amount of $4.5 million have been approved by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. With the full involvement of Wisconsin state government and the United Steel Workers Union, this tax credit was arranged to confirm Harley Davidson's intent to invest some $300 million in the expansion of engine and transmission manufacturing in the state of Wisconsin. It is expected that this growth could create up to 200 new high paying manufacturing jobs and will assist in the retention of Harley's 4,100 existing employees in the state.

Harley Davidson was considering expanding outside of Wisconsin but left the door open to stay at Harley's home in Menomonee Falls. The company has always sought home-based solutions first. The administration of Governor Jim Doyle claims it was hard work to get Harley to accept the state tax credits but historically that has not been the pattern. All Harley Davidson has ever asked for is a level playing field.

I'll believe that it was hard work for Doyle to give it to them... when Hogs fly!