Nebraska Manufacturing Innovation Award Presented to Reinke

Reinke Manufacturing Co. has been named the recipient of the 2008 Nebraska Innovation in Manufacturing Award. The Deshler, Neb.-based company was honored at the May 14 annual meeting of the State Chamber’s Manufacturers Council. Presented by the State Chamber of Commerce and RSM McGladrey — a leading provider of accounting, tax and business consulting services — the Innovation in Manufacturing Award recognizes Nebraska manufacturers that successfully demonstrate new ways of conducting business via products, processes, technologies and strategies.

Reinke Manufacturing employs approximately 400 employees in a rural community of less than 900. It is one of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers of mechanized irrigation systems, as well as flatbed and drop deck trailers and inter-modal tank and container chassis. Reinke received the Innovation Award for its workforce training and retention efforts, as the company has teamed with local schools and community colleges to create new career opportunities for students and adults who want to remain and work in the Thayer County area.

Last year, the Deshler Board of Education agreed to partner with Reinke in the implementation of a contemporary welding technology curriculum for high school students and interested adults. Renovations were made to the school’s industrial arts building. The new program and facility upgrade has encouraged around 20 students to enroll in the school’s welding class next fall — a large number for a Class C school. A similar partnership has been forged between Reinke and Belleville, Kan. Public Schools, where more than 30 students have enrolled in the welding program. Students and adults who successfully complete the welding course qualify for credits at Southeast Community College in Milford, Neb. and Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan.

Accepting the Innovation Award on behalf of Reinke was company president Chris C. Roth, who called the partnership with Deshler and Belleville Schools a “win-win-win” situation for Reinke, the local schools and the community. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. manufacturers will need as many as 14 million new skilled workers by 2020, in part to replace the baby boomers who comprise nearly half of manufacturing jobs today. The U.S. Labor Department predicts a significant increase in welding technology jobs over the next few years, while the American Welding Society estimates the current workforce of skilled welders could fall by 70% in ten years.