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Manufacturing is a major part of the history of the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area, and few have the pedigree that Metal Ware in Two Rivers has.
Metal Ware has been in business since 1920, and they celebrated their 100th year in business last month. Since their earliest days, they have seen several changes to their product line.
Chief Operating Officer Ross Niemi explained that back in the early days, “actually we started with kids toys. In the war, we made headlamps. Our biggest brand, Nesco. We are known for the Nesco roaster, but we do much much more than the roaster. It’s still a good part of our business, but the biggest category in our business today is food preservation.” Those products include dehydrators, vacuum sealers, and canning materials.
Company President Rick Carrey told SeehaferNews.com that he and Ross, whom he went to school with at Marquette, took over the company after it was ran by Wes Drumm and Victor Trastik for over 60 years. “I took over as President, Ross as COO, and that was a major transition,” Carrey explained. “That kinda began a process of modernization for the company.” Once they took over, Carrey explained that they began to focus on brining production that had been sent oversees to China back to the U.S. He said that Drumm and Trasik had no choice in sending the production of the Nesco roasters overseas due to operating costs. Carrey said they were getting a complete and finished product made and shipped back to the U.S. from China for the same cost of purchasing raw materials locally. “There are lots of reason for that,” Carrey explained. “The big thing…is China basically subsidizes manufacturing. So where, let’s say for instance, it costs us $1 per kilowatt here, in China that will be 5 cents.” Therefore, some of their procedures, which are very energy intensive, becomes very expensive.
They have been successful in their endeavor to bring work back to the Lakeshore, by producing the product in house, while outsourcing the electronic components from overseas, using the best of both worlds. Looking to the future, Metal Ware is looking to double their production staff, by adding an additional 40 workers on top of the 40 they already employ. One way they are doing that is through what they call skill-based pay. Niemi explained that means they pay you based on the skills you have, as opposed to simply offering one base pay for employees who are new to the company. Niemi said that it is a “great path for people that come in. They can see a career.” Carrey and Niemi’s love for their employees was evident as they gave us a tour of the production facility. Every employee we passed said hi, and the duo would speak to them about what was going on with their lives both in and outside of work.