Mid-States Aluminum associates celebrate company growth

Mid-States Aluminum took time on Wednesday to recognize and celebrate the efforts of 250 associates directly responsible for the company’s recent, steady growth.

　　According to a Mid-States Aluminum news release, Mid-States has welcomed 26 new associates to its ranks since January to accommodate the higher business level. New associates have been added to all three shifts in the engineering, extrusion, fabrication and anodizing departments as well as packaging and administration areas.

　　“We had an aggressive 10 percent growth plan this year and are on track to achieving that goal," Jim Spannbauer, Mid-States president and CEO, said. "Our success is directly attributable to the hard work and dedication of our associates, who come to work every day and are fully engaged to manufacture and deliver custom, quality products on time."

　　New employees, many of whom have never worked in manufacturing, are introduced to the company culture primarily through the Buddy System which assigns a new employee to a “Buddy” for training and integration purposes, the release said.

　　“We have been fortunate to attract and retain these associates especially during the current tight labor market in Fond du Lac County,” Sue Roettger, Mid-States vice president of human resources, said. “Knowing that we compete with other manufacturing companies in the area, we have been attracting new associates through referral programs, job fairs and other forms of traditional advertising. We also promote our company culture to attract new associates.”

　　New associates have a go-to person for mentoring and are encouraged to ask questions, Roettger said. "Buddies" are trained to provide general facility and technical job orientation, computer training and mentoring to new associates.

　　"We work diligently to ensure new personnel are welcomed into the culture of the organization as well as technically trained to perform their jobs,” Roettger said. “The foundation of our organization rests on our associates. We appreciate and recognize the value our associates bring to the organization.”