Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 22, 2017 01:00 AM

Need skilled workers? Talk to the guidance counselor

Audrey LaForest
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Otto Engineering Inc.
    Otto Engineering Inc. uses smaller injection molding presses from Arburg Inc. and Niigata Machine Techno Co. Ltd.

    Seven years ago, Otto Engineering Inc. started partnering with a local high school near the company's headquarters in Carpentersville, Ill., on a work-study training program. Seniors could enroll in the program during their second semester, spending one hour a day gaining experience at Otto while earning school credit. The curriculum covered everything from business ethics and reading a blueprint to how to solder.

    "I would guarantee the student a job when he [or she] graduated high school," Tom Roeser, president of Otto Engineering, said in a telephone interview.

    "An example of somebody who went through that program is a young man who works for us today," Roeser continued. "He's 28 years old. He started that way, and he makes $75,000 [a year]."

    Otto, a vertically integrated manufacturing company that employs 500, makes industrial controls and audio accessories for demanding applications in heavy equipment, aerospace, marine, medical, communications and other markets. Everything is done in-house, including injection molding, stamping, CNC machining, cable assembly and cable overmolding.

    Roeser's father, Jack, started the company in 1961 in the basement of his Park Ridge, Ill., home with an initial investment of $5,000. Using his previous experience with the military, business and engineering, Jack designed and sold pushbutton and rotary switches. Roeser joined the company in 1987 as general manager, assuming responsibility of the company's daily activities.

    Today, the top 100 employees with some college education average $131,000 in their paychecks, Roeser said.

    "But the top 100 employees [without a college degree] average $78,000," he added. "And these are good jobs and typical middle America jobs."

    Otto Engineering Inc.

    Larry Follman, molding supervisor, has been with Otto for 19 years. He says nearly half of his employees in the molding division are between 19-21 years old.

    Calling all 'essential workers'

    Median household income in 2016 was $55,322, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And Korn Ferry, a recruiting firm in Los Angeles, reported that average salaries for college graduates in 2017 were at "an all-time high" in at least the last 10 years at $49,785, according to a study by its Hay Group division.

    At Otto, workers without a college degree are earning nearly 57 percent above the average salary of those recent college graduates. But Roeser is still facing an ongoing problem affecting nearly every corner of manufacturing: a lack of qualified workers to fill soon-to-be open positions as older workers retire.

    "How long do you think it's going to be until you go call up a plumber and say, 'I need a plumber today. My toilet is all plugged up.' And he says, 'Oh, I can come next Thursday, but not before then,'" Roeser said. "It's going to happen because we've told all of our kids to go to college, and we have been disparaging of what people would call 'the trades.'"

    Roeser doesn't call them the trades anymore, however. He refers to it as the "essential workers."

    Larry Follman, molding supervisor at Otto, is one of those workers. He's been with the company for 19 years and leads a team in the molding division. He said nearly half of his staff is in the 19-21 age range.

    Otto has 16 injection molding machines, ranging from 28-120 tons. The company uses presses from Niigata Machine Techno Co. Ltd. and Arburg Inc., among others.

    But it's not often a young person approaches an Otto employee with an interest in becoming a mold tech, for example, said Anthony Scianna Jr., senior procurement specialist at the company.

    "The younger generation these days, it's harder to find people going into tool and die and trades like that," he added.

    In an effort to hire more of those essential workers, the company is investing more than $10 million in a 100,000-square-foot technology and manufacturing center on 30 acres less than a mile away from its headquarters in Carpentersville.

    Otto purchased Itasca, Ill.-based Dies Plus Inc. for an undisclosed amount in November and will relocate the tool and die company, which includes nine employees, to the new facility. Its metal stamping and machining operations will also be relocated there. Construction is expected to start in spring 2018 and will be completed in 2019.

    The facility also marks Roeser's commitment to attracting young workers. Otto is partnering with the Schaumburg, Ill.-based Tooling and Manufacturing Association on an apprenticeship program. Five employees from Otto are already taking night classes through the association, but on-site classrooms at Otto's new facility will allow its second-shift workers to access training opportunities as well. Roeser said he hopes to have at least 10 on-site apprentices going through the program at a time.

    "What motivated me to do this was my own future survival of manufacturing in America," he said.

    Otto Engineering Inc.

    Otto Engineering Inc. is investing more than $10 million in a technology and manufacturing center less than a mile away from its headquarters in Carpentersville, Ill.

    What can I help you with today?

    Three years ago, Roeser received zero applications from the local high school for the work-study program at Otto. That didn't sit well with him.

    "I went to talk to the high school principal and what he said to me was, 'It's the guidance counselors. They don't like manufacturing. They want everyone to go to college,'" he recalled.

    In response, Roeser took the opportunity to speak directly to the nine guidance counselors at the high school.

    To the counselors who had high school seniors of their own, Roeser asked, "What would you say to your son or daughter if they came to you and said, 'Mom, I don't want to go to college?'" One counselor responded with a firm, "Oh no. They're going to college."

    But when Roeser asked the group what they say to other students at the school who tell them they don't want to go to college, the group went silent.

    "I think what you do is you say, 'Are you sure?' And then when you say [that] to a 17-year-old kid, they think they've made a bad decision or at least they're insecure about it, so you want to change their mind," Roeser recalled saying to the counselors.

    "And so, what you say is, 'What are you going to do? Work in a factory?'"

    That scene in the guidance counselor's office was from last November. And while Roeser thought he might have convinced the group of administrators to direct more students down a conveyor belt that doesn't lead to a four-year degree, that spring he still received zero applications from the high school.

    "It's a problem that we've created with false hope and expectations for our kids," he said of the college vs. the skilled trades debate. "These are very good jobs, and we should be celebrating it."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    New owners plan growth across US for medical molder Seaway
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Pandemic-prompted reshoring creates growth for medical injection molders
    2
    Lego to build $1B US molding plant
    3
    Boston Group consolidating, growing in Ohio
    4
    Atkore buys HDPE pipe maker United Poly, continuing M&A push
    5
    Numbers that Matter Live - June 2022
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified