Getting Students Excited About Manufacturing

Loos Machine & Automation to participate in 2024 Heavy Metal Tour of North Central Wisconsin

COLBY – As it has done in past years, Loos Machine & Automation, located at 205 W. Washington St. in Colby, will again participate in the Heavy Metal Tour of Central Wisconsin Manufacturers.

Zach Peissig, director of manufacturing at Loos, said the tour is designed to get kids excited about the possibility of a manufacturing career.

“This is our second time participating in the Heavy Metal Tour,” he said. “We took part in one a couple of years ago.”

Peissig said Heavy Metal coordinators organize the event with businesses and school districts in the area and around the state.

“I’m not sure how wide the reach goes, but the coordinators work with schools, get bussing and transportation and then they’ll put the schedule together,” he said. “The students, who are normally around eighth grade, will tour a handful of businesses throughout that day – it might be like two or three in a day. The kids will tour a business for maybe 60-90 minutes and then move on to the next one – then the next group will come through.”

Dana Handel, Loos’ human resources manager, said the Heavy Metal Tour helps build the company’s image and awareness.

“The tour is forward-thinking,” she said. “A lot of the kids get really excited, so it’s good for that youthful population.”

With Wisconsin having one of the highest concentrations of manufacturing jobs in the country, Peissig said events like the Heavy Metal Tour “are extremely important.”

“(About) two years ago, we really struggled (finding employees),” he said. “I think the whole industry struggled, but I believe, in comparison, we were more fortunate than others mainly because of our presence within the community and our culture we house here – it attracts a lot of individuals.”

Because of its past difficulties in attracting employees, Peissig said Loos takes a different approach.

“Two years ago, when we were struggling, we noticed we couldn’t pull these experienced individuals from the outside world,” he said. “With colleges, we noticed with machinists, fabricators, welders, etc., that the enrollment at these colleges was going down and other companies that were closer (in distance) to those schools were scooping them up right away.”

Recognizing that, Peissig said that’s when Loos shifted its approach – “giving presentations at the local schools a few times per year.”

“We started going directly to the high schools and even younger,” he said. “That’s how we got onto this Heavy Metal Tour as well. It was a great opportunity for us to get exposure to these eighth graders and show them what Loos is and the various opportunities we have that separate us from other companies. We have a lot of different positions/opportunities and skill sets we deploy.”

Peissig said in some situations, the presentations have led to youth apprenticeships.

“It’s the same with the Heavy Metal Tour,” he said. “Hopefully, they come into our facility and see what’s to offer, and then they might go the youth apprenticeship route and then continue at Loos after.”

Peissig said they’ve also noticed that part-time summer help can lead to finding quality employees.

“These high schoolers we bring on part-time in the summer, and then during the school year, they tell their friends what a great place Loos is to work for, and then it snowballs from there,” he said.

In addition to youth apprenticeships and on-the-job training, Handel said Loos offers other benefits.

“One thing we’ve really worked on is our company benefits – holidays, vacations, etc.,” she said. “But even more importantly, we strive to – at least in the past year – do well with our employees’ health and wellness and overall well-being. We partnered with an employer clinic in our Colby and Bruce locations where any individuals on our health insurance plan can go to these clinics free of charge. We also have additional partnerships for our health insurance side of things, so partnerships for imaging services, surgical services and things of that nature. We are using that to promote our recruitment efforts.”

More on youth apprenticeships

In addition to participating in the Heavy Metal Tour, Handel said Loos is “heavily involved in youth apprenticeships.”

“We work with youth 16 and older for our apprenticeships,” she said. “For example, if we have an individual who is interested in a general labor maintenance type of position, they’d interview with us, and then we provide them with information on the program – ‘hey, did you know you could get involved in a youth apprenticeship program and get this as more of a school to work, getting credit toward your college education?’”

Handel said Loos’ youth apprentices are paid.

“They can get college credits and get paid at the same time,” she said.

Handel said another way for students to decide whether they want to take part in a youth apprenticeship is by job shadowing.

“We entertain the idea of them coming in and doing a job shadow for a couple of hours to see if it’s truly something they’re interested in,” she said.

Post-secondary education, Handel said, is changing, so that’s why companies like Loos can be a more viable option for students after high school.

“Of course, we have positions like an engineering role that is going to require probably a four-year college degree,” she said. “But if it’s in manufacturing, I would say we see a lot of kids going to trade schools. We do a lot of on-the-job training here, too. So, for example, we might not require a specific welding degree or certificate to be in a position here.”

At Loos, Handel said, if an individual is interested in school, “we’ll work with them.”

“If we think that would be a great stepping stone for them in their succession planning, we offer tuition reimbursement programs as well,” she said. “By keeping those employees and people close to home, it’s good for Colby and the surrounding area.”

For more information on the Heavy Metal Tour, visit cwimamfg.com.

What does Loos do?

In a nutshell, Peissig said Loos – which employs about 170 – manufactures custom food processing equipment.

“Within the food industry, we specialize in cheese, but we do lots of other areas, including vegetables, bread, poultry and pizza lines,” he said.

Peissig said Loos can make individual pieces of specialized equipment or even entire systems.

“If our customers have an existing line and they’re looking for more throughput the process or to streamline a little bit better, we can incorporate design, too,” he said. “We can incorporate a piece of equipment within that system for them or for a brand new facility. For a completely renovated line or area, we will design and manufacture the entire system – from that raw product into a packaged good. We can do it from start to finish.”

Peissig said Loos got its start in 1902 as a small machine maintenance and repair shop for local farmers.

“That’s how we got started – in the agriculture industry working for local farmers, coming up with solutions for them,” he said. “Then we even had a stint where Loos was making boat engines, but then we slowly moved into the food industry.”

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