EP 9 - Manufacturers Give Back: Community Engagement | OEM Fabricators | Woodville, Wisconsin

“While the safer at home order was in place, we increased hourly pay by three dollars an hour for anybody that worked on site.” – Kelly Ingli | President & CFO | OEM Fabricators

“It was a team effort and the face shields were distributed to hospitals in Phillips area, Neillsville and Woodville area.” – Tom Aaby | Vice President of Business Development | OEM Fabricators

In our final episode of “Wisconsin Made. The Podcast.” we are joined by OEM Fabricators out of Woodville, Wisconsin who is a leading contract manufacturer with three locations in the northern half of Wisconsin with facilities in Woodville, Neillsville and Phillips. They specialize in complex, medium to heavy gauge, metal fabricated components that service the rail maintenance, passenger rail, mining, construction and oil and gas industries. In this episode, we learn about how OEM implemented a $3/hour hazard pay increase for those working onsite during the safer at home order. In addition, OEM manufactured and donated 400 face shields to local hospitals and team members sewed and donated over 1,600 masks.

Our guests joining us are Kelly Ingli, President & CFO and Tom Aaby, Vice President of Business Development for OEM Fabricators. Kelly is an experienced business leader and has been with OEM Fabricators since 2007. She has served in a variety of roles and most recently as Chief Financial Officer. Tom is integral to the business development of OEM and has been with the organization for nearly 30 years. Join us during this episode to learn more about their insights navigating their business through the COVID-19 pandemic and their thoughts on the future state of manufacturing in Wisconsin.

In this episode we answer:

Tell me a little bit about OEM Fabricators. (1:45)

How did OEM respond to the pandemic in the spring of 2020? (3:10)

Why did OEM implement a $3/hour hazard pay increase while the safer at home order was in place? (5:10)

What were some of the major challenges you experienced last spring? (6:10)

Tell me about how you were able to donate face shields and create about 1,600 masks. (7:30)

How does the future look for OEM? What is your outlook for the manufacturing industry generally moving forward? (14:10)

Wisconsin Made. The Podcast. – Series Recap, Closing Remarks (17:40)

This concludes our series of “Wisconsin. Made. The Podcast.” We truly hope that you have enjoyed this series as we’ve heard from manufacturers across the state of Wisconsin about their challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have heard some truly amazing stories from Wisconsin employers and what their employees have done over the past year to combat COVID-19 and truly delivered.  The amount of innovation that has happened over the past year is just the beginning, manufacturing is alive and well in Wisconsin and has an extremely bright future.

“Wisconsin Made. The Podcast.” is brought to you by Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year, a premier annual awards program celebrating excellence in manufacturing in the state of Wisconsin. Thank you to our program sponsors Baker Tilly, Michael Best and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC).