A renewed partnership
Old Station 31 Spirits – defined by family, tradition, service
May 12, 2025
HATLEY – Over the last 50 years, Randy Wanta said he has built more buildings than he can count – but the work is only part of what he’s proud of.
“What I find most rewarding is I can sit here and look at my daughter and my son to keep carrying this business on, and just feeling good (that), ‘Hey, we’ve gotten it to this point,’” Randy said.
After all, getting his company – Wanta & Son Inc. – to this point, he said, was never a sure thing, as he suddenly found himself in charge of the business at age 20 following the death of his father, Joe, in 1975.
Since then, Randy said the company has evolved and grown, boosted by the support of his wife, Vice President/Secretary Roxy; his son, Designer Ryan; and his daughter, Operations Manager Becky Rogalla.
With Randy and Roxy raising their two children nearby the shop and involved with the work, Becky said it was only natural for talk of the family business to come up outside of the office.
“I don’t know what we would talk about if we didn’t have this,” she laughed. “This is just how Ryan and I grew up, and this is our family dynamic. I don’t know what life would be like not growing up with a builder (for a father) or having building in our genetics. It’s just – if you’re a Wanta, you build.”
Though the family’s built more than just a feel-good story, Randy said with Wanta & Son quality work is at the heart of the company’s sustained success.
According to its website (wanta.com), Wanta & Son’s annual sales have surpassed more than 25 times what they were when Randy began as president.
Testaments to the company’s achievements, Becky said, aren’t hard to find.
“If you drive along (State) Highway 29 in Weston, we’ve done most of the buildings along that way,” she said.
Ryan said Wanta & Son’s “bread and butter” is metal buildings.
“What we provide are design-build services,” he said. “We design the building from the start, price as we go along (and) work with engineers ourselves.”
The types of projects the family said it takes on include:
- Manufacturing
- Warehousing
- Breweries/distilleries
- Trucking headquarters
- Other construction companies’ headquarters and offices
- Workshops, sheds and pole barns
- Horse barns, arenas and stables
Furthermore, Ryan said the vast majority of Wanta & Son’s projects are customized.
“We start from the ground up,” he said. “We work with the customers one on one to develop that plan. Not that we haven’t done buildings that are already planned out, it’s just better and easier for us (to custom-design), because we control the whole process.”
A primary component of the company’s process, the family said, is the steel it sources from Star Building Systems, a multi-national supplier.
Randy said he became an official Star Builder in the mid-80s at Roxy’s suggestion – “a very good move, no question about it.”
“We’ve been with them a long time,” he said. “We’ve known a lot of people there – good friends and family – and I’ve been on, (I think), four different (Star Building Systems) Presidents Advisory Councils.”
This long-time loyalty was recognized in April, Randy said, as he and three others were inducted into the Star Hall of Fame.
Per starbuildings.com, the recognition is Star’s “most prestigious recognition – reserved for those who go beyond the specs and the steel to leave a legacy in the field.”
The family said the honor was announced at Star’s biennial National Builder Meeting Awards Night in Miami, with Ryan and Becky aware of their father’s forthcoming induction, though Randy himself was not.
While enjoying the banquet and event’s proceedings, Randy said he marveled at the Hall of Fame inductees, including one four-generation company he said was much larger than his own.
“I’m just sitting there listening and then I said to my son, ‘I hope some year, we might be able to get there,’” Randy said. “Then all of a sudden, they’re announcing the next one, and they said ‘a builder since 1987’ – and like a light bulb, I said, ‘That’s the year I started.’ And then they announced it. I just couldn’t believe it.”
Wanta connection
Randy said his three older brothers had each moved on to start their own construction businesses when his father passed away, leaving him to run the company once called Joe Wanta & Son.
Moving beyond the company’s dairy- and farm-related origins, Randy said he changed the name to Wanta & Son sometime after Ryan was born.
Though he and Becky spent time in other industries, Ryan said as they regrouped and focused on the family business full-time, the collaboration has been fruitful.
“Becky worked in the healthcare industry, and she’s using her experience to help manage our team, to (handle) HR and also work in the inner workings of our business,” he said. “I have a design background – I started in art and went into fashion forever, and then came back home and used all my design talents (at Wanta and Son).”
His talents were likewise recently recognized by Star, Ryan said, when he was named Builder of the Year for one of Wanta & Son’s distillery projects.
He said his mom, Roxy, rounds out the “all-encompassing” family dynamic.
“Every morning, we like to sit down, have our little morning chats about goals and what’s going right, what’s going wrong and (discuss) ‘how do we all work together and plan this out?’” Ryan said. “We’ve been doing that now for a good year, maybe two already.”
Becky said the familial nature of the company extends to the full team, typically comprised of eight to 10 employees, some of whom have been with Wanta & Son for three, even four decades.
“I know (companies often) say ‘we like to have a family company’ – well, no, it really is like (family here),” she said. “We get (employees’) kids presents for Easter and Christmas and (other holidays). We all know each other, and (everyone’s) all invited to (each other’s) weddings, graduation parties and sometimes birthday parties. We’re all very close.”
Randy said the connections extend to the community as well, as he’s served on boards for statewide and national frame builders associations, while also supporting the Boy Scouts of America, the Hatley Fire District and local youth athletics.
Regarding the latter, Ryan said Randy regularly gifts tickets to Green Bay Packers games to young athletes who’ve never previously attended a game.
Becky said the positivity further emanates to the business community, as Wanta & Son’s reputation has spread throughout Central and North Central Wisconsin almost exclusively by word-of-mouth recommendations.
“A lot of our jobs the last few years have (been) basically built on relationships,” she said, “and just knowing these people, and them coming to us and wanting us to build for them.”
Providing further validation, Randy said he estimates more than 80% of the company’s clients are repeat customers.
When it comes to sustaining his business, he said “honesty is the main thing.”
“You always run into some other issues here and there (with clients’ projects),” Randy said, “but you just work it out, and be honest with them.”
Ryan said learning about new companies and building relationships has been highly rewarding for the team.
“We get to see their businesses grow, and that’s really the best thing about what we do – being involved with people when they start their businesses,” he said. “Or, you’re always there at a big moment, when they’re deciding to expand or build a new location. Being able to watch all these businesses flourish is kind of amazing.”
A familial future
Sizing up 50 years of Wanta & Son, Randy said – though he’ll “probably never” retire – he is pleased with the company’s positioning.
“I feel we’re in a good place,” he said, “and I feel I’m in a good place, too.”
Randy said he has full faith in Ryan and Becky’s skills to carry the company forward, while Ryan also said Becky’s daughter, who graduates this month, “is looking to join the trades, so there might be a possibility of a fourth generation.”
Shorter term, Randy said he’s planning to host a 50th anniversary party this fall, and inviting cherished customers and employees – past and present – to celebrate the milestone.
Though his foresight has been a driving force of Wanta & Son’s success, Randy said he does enjoy reminiscing as well.
“I just think back – I’ve got a lot of memories,” he said. “Good memories.”
If you “Wanta” know more, visit the website or find the company on social media.
