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October 13, 2025
WAUSAU – When Sure-Dry purchased its Wausau office on Stewart Avenue in February 2020, General Manager Jamie Budiac said they didn’t know what lay ahead with then-looming COVID-19-related shutdowns.
But within a few months, Budiac said they were up and running and have continued to gain traction in Central Wisconsin ever since.
Today, he said Sure-Dry’s Central Wisconsin location generates nearly $6 million annually, representing almost one-third of the company’s projected $19 million in revenue this year.
A Central WI presence
Starting 31 years ago as a small waterproofing operation out of a garage, Budiac said the company has since expanded to 92 employees serving Menasha and Wausau.
He said Sure-Dry’s core services include five key areas: basement waterproofing – which makes up 45% of its work – foundation repair, crawl space encapsulation, egress windows and concrete lifting.
But the business, Budiac said, is about more than just services – it’s also about the entire customer experience.
“We work really hard to make sure we deliver remarkable experiences for the homeowner right from the get-go,” he said. “Our goal is to underpromise and overdeliver while treating each home as if it were our own.”
Budiac said that’s the case whether a homeowner has a cracked foundation, wet basement, nasty crawl space, sinking concrete or a dark basement with opportunities for an egress window.
Sure-Dry, he said, does it all.
That starts with educational marketing, Budiac said, continues with a consultative sales approach and trickles through to production, installation and service.
It’s an approach the company has taken for decades, Budiac said, even doing some business in Central Wisconsin before formally setting up shop there – with crews traveling from the Fox Valley to jobs in Merrill, Antigo, Rhinelander and other parts of the state’s central region.
However, all the hotel stays and fuel costs added up, Budiac said, and also took a toll on crews who sought work-life balance.
So, he said the Sure-Dry team chose to set up shop closer to its Central Wisconsin customers.
Though Sure-Dry has “dabbled in Central Wisconsin and the Northwoods,” Budiac said it wasn’t until about seven years ago that the company started thinking about it more seriously.
“One of our salesmen offered to move to the Wausau area and become a beacon of light there [for Sure-Dry] at chamber events,” he said. “We built a crew there, including another foreman who was from here, and by June [of that year], we felt really good and have been great ever since.”
Budiac said the growth has continued, with the Wausau office adding a sales manager six months ago and a marketing outreach coordinator in December [2024] to strengthen community connections.
The company’s growth in Central Wisconsin, he said, aligns with the company’s local strategy, supporting school activities, athletics, the Wausau Cyclones and forming partnerships with the Wausau Area Builders Association and similar organizations like Northstar Restoration Services.
“Being local and part of the local scene is important to us as we are still building the brand to be a household name,” he said.
Strength in culture
With two locations – the headquarters in Menasha and the five-year-old Wausau facility – Budiac said the company benefits from convenient access to stocked warehouses and production equipment, enabling better service for homeowners
The results of those efforts, he said, speak for themselves, as Sure-Dry boasts more than 1,400 Google reviews with an average rating of 4.8 stars and has won the region’s Community Choice Award for six consecutive years.
Budiac said the company has also been named a certified Great Place to Work for five straight years.
“We’re incredibly proud of being repeat recipients; we’ve been Community Choice Award recipients six times in a row in all eight markets we serve,” he said.
Budiac said he credits a combination of the right people, the right training and the right approach to delivering their services for the accolades.
“It’s hiring the right people, training them the right way and treating them really well that allows them to deliver remarkable experiences,” he said.
Budiac said this involves deliberate effort in setting and sustaining the company’s values and culture.
He said he credits the director of operations in Wausau and several production managers – who regularly visit the location to check in – as well as the company’s quarterly meetings for ensuring continuity.
Twice a year, Budiac said the company pauses operations for a full day during its January and July quarterly meetings to strengthen team bonds.
“We’ve done some cool stuff – scavenger hunts at Lambeau Field and the [Green Bay] Packers Hall of Fame, kickball tournaments, a bike build where we built 20 bikes for a Boys and Girls Club,” he said.
Budiac said those activities are reinforced by the work done every day.
“We also have a lot of one-on-ones with our employees,” he said. “Managers know their employees and what motivates them [and know] what they need from us to help make them a better person.”
Budiac said that’s further complemented by several unique product differentiators in the market.
As part of a national dealer network, Budiac said Sure-Dry has access to 31 patented products, such as its clog-resistant WaterGuard® drainage system and TripleSafe™ sump pump.
Collectively, between the products and the people, he said the team has grown from a $2.5 million company with 23 employees 16 years ago to a regional employer offering stable, well-paying jobs and career advancement.
“People think we’re a tiny business, but we have 90-plus employees we’re able to [employ] who can provide for their families, and they love coming to work,” he said. “We always say, ‘We’re working with our friends every day.’”
Budiac said the care the team takes extends to customers.
Though many of Sure-Dry’s projects – like waterproofing and foundation repair – cost thousands and address essential issues, Budiac said customers often walk away satisfied because the work provides lasting peace of mind.
“We have so many customers who said that every time it stormed, they lay awake worried something would happen again,” he said. “Truly relieving those pain points is [rewarding].”
