A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc. - On the Rebound

DOES WORKFORCE INVESTMENT WORK?

ASK A.R.E. MANUFACTURING, INC...

"It would have been really difficult to get to where we are at without Job Growers, workforce grants and OMEP to make this happen. I really think it saved our company." Alvin Elbert, President and CEO, A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc., Newberg, OR

Like many small businesses, A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc. in Newberg, Oregon, was challenged to stay competitive. A.R.E. is a small, family owned custom parts manufacturer. Despite strong growth in the mid-2000's, global competition ultimately cost the company a lot of its core business. It could not compete with low cost Chinese parts. Alvin Elbert, President and CEO, knew the company needed to become more efficient if it was going to survive. He turned to his local economic development partners and Job Growers Incorporated, the Local Workforce Investment Board, for help.

Like many small companies A.R.E. was challenged to cover the full cost of training and the staff time implementing changes, while dealing with production challenges. And, like many small companies, A.R.E. didn't realize how profoundly training would change the company. An Employer Workforce Training Fund grant from Job Growers Incorporated matched A.R.E.'s investment into Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) training, and tipped the scales. "The resulting lean training might be the reason we are in business today. It also changed our entire culture. We've improved our retention rate, and provided an average of 47 hours of training per employee last year. Today we have a goal of 50 hours of training per employee per year," stated Elbert.

As new challenges arose (such as meeting customer on-time delivery expectations and finding ways to quickly train employees for higher-level openings), A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc. once again turned to Job Growers for help. As a result, A.R.E. standardized its machinist position and implemented a training program. As a result of the new training, A.R.E. has reduced the time it takes to fully train a machinist from 4 to 5 years, to 1 year.

A.R.E. lost almost 40% of its workforce due to global competition and the recent economic downturn. But, today it is on the path to recovering and has begun adding jobs again.

A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc. was awarded the Portland Business Journal's 2010 Oregon Manufacturing Excellence in Training Award.

Does Workforce Investment Work? Ask Alvin Elbert at A.R.E. Manufacturing, Inc.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Alvin Elbert
• ARE Manufacturing
• High performance
• lean manufacturing
• OMEP
• Oregon WOrkforce Partnership
• workforce investment act
• adding jobs
• Newberg OR