Author Archives: rentapen

About rentapen

Susan Straley, aka Queen of Lean Machine Design, is the President of Rentapen Inc. in Waukesha, WI. She helps manufacturers reduce costs through excellence in 3d desing services, RAPid Tooling Components(TM), and Just-in-Time Laser Cutting Services(TM). Susan can be reached directly at 262-542-8891.

RAPid CAPS PROTECT FASTENERS – MAKE WELD FIXTURES EASIER TO CHANGE

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WELD FIXTURE SPECIALISTS ANSWER NEED TO MAKE WORK HOLDING FIXTURES EASIER TO CHANGE

Protective brass caps for fasteners help manufacturers re-use components and make changes to machine tools.

Rapidcaps-fastener-capsTHE RAPid CAP STORY

In 2013, George and I were sitting in the long, grey conference room with our customer. He was complaining, “The problem is, when I want to make changes to the weld fixture, it’s a real pain because the fasteners are all full of weld spatter. We can’t get at the socket to remove the screw.”

This sounded a bit familiar. Sometimes it takes hearing a thing more than once for it to sink through our thick skulls. At that moment, we realized that this was an issue with most of our customers that did welding to produce their end product. George and I looked at each other. “What if we made something to protect the screws from splatter,” I asked. “Would that make it easier for you to use and re-use our RAPid Tooling Components?”

“Sure!” he said. “When I was done with a fixture I could re-use the components if I want to… or even to add an adjustment shim if we need to.”

George is good at coming up with great designs. He and his team were behind the idea of RAPid Tooling Components back in 2000. So I let him stew on it. I told him that once he got a few made we needed to send them into the real world to be tested.

It didn’t take him long to come up with a design for RAPid Caps.

So we sent some out to our customers to try on their fixtures. The feedback was terrific and orders came in before we were set up to market them. RAPid Caps obviously fill a need in the welding and weld fixture world.

Susan Straley
Queen of Lean Machine Design
Rentapen Inc.

WHAT ARE THEY?

RAPid Caps are made of brass. A round stem presses into the socket of a socket head cap screw and covers the top of the screw leaving a slight gap between the head of the screw and the RAPid cap.

Pop-off-screw-capThe tip of a screw driver is wedged into the gap and pops the cap off.

Adjustments and changes can be made. And the cap can be pressed back into the socket to provide spatter protection again.
RAPid Caps come in inch and metric sizes. Check out Rentapen’s RAPid Caps web page for sizes and ordering instructions.

Weld Fixture Specialists Offers New Products to Manufacturers.

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Rentapen Inc. Listens to Customers, Makes Alterations To Product Line And Creates Four New RAPid Blocks™

On June 21, 2013 Rentapen Inc. added four New RAPid Blocks™ to their collection of six RAPid Blocks™.  Rentapen Inc., located in Waukesha, WI, first developed RAPid Tooling Components™ in the year 2002.

The RAPid Tooling Component™ product line was inspired by Rentapen’s customers’ need for dramatic reductions in the overall design, set-up, and operation costs of welding and other tooling fixtures. Rapid Tooling Components™ (RTC) reduce the design cost of the fixture by eliminating the need to design, detail and check similar parts over and over again.

 “We found that it was costing our customer $100 to design, check, cut, and create a block.  We realized we could do it cheaper.  With RAPid Tooling Components™, it now costs that customer about $37 for the same block and they don’t have to design and check it each time,” said Susan Straley, President and Owner of Rentapen.  “Our product line saves time in the design and build of product part holding fixtures.”

The new RAPid Blocks™ are RB11, RB12, RB16, & RB19 and can be downloaded for free on Rentapen’s website.  RAPid Blocks™ are standard yet versatile parts that are used with locating pins, rest pads, jig feet, and other parts in a weld fixture.

The new blocks are improvements to a now discontinued blocks; which was limited to only a 3/8 screw size.  These improvements allow the customer to use any screw size (1/2, 3/8, ¼, & 5/16) needed to complete the design of the weld fixture.

The RB11 & RB16 is designed with two drill and counter-bored holes used to screw the block to the plate and one press fit hole to hold a dowel.  In the front of the RB11 there is one round screw hole used for front and back shim adjustability.  The RB16 is designed the exact same way but with one large difference.  Instead of a round hole, it is designed with a slot for optimum side to side adjustability of up to ¼”.

The RB12 & RB19 is designed with three drill and counter-bored holes used to screw the block to the plate and two press fit holes to hold a dowels.

The RB12 and RB19 are designed to be longer, in order to locate other parts and to keep them square on the weld fixture.  Similar, to the design of the RB11, the RB12 has round screw holes used for shim adjustability in 3 directions of up to 1/8”.

RB12 has two oversized holes; located at each end of the block. To solidly hole the subassembly against the RB12 but still is able to allow adjustments in the side to side and up and down directions.  Rentapen created a weld fixture design lesson with slide show to explain better with images.

The RB19 is designed similar to the RB12 but it is designed with a two slots for additional side to side adjustability.

To provide their customers with the best price, Rentapen makes each RAPid Block™ when it is ordered. Keeping finished goods inventory costs low and passing on the savings to Rentapen’s customers.

Rentapen Inc., Weld Fixture Specialists is home of RAPid Tooling Components™ used in weld fixture design and build. Rentapen Inc, located in Waukesha, WI, has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  Rentapen is a Certified Woman Owned Business and home of RAPid Tooling Components™.

Web App. Makes Design Of Weld Fixtures Efficient For Manufacturers.

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Rentapen Inc., the weld fixture specialist, has a web app. that Manufacturing Engineers are utilizing to save time and money.

On July 1, 2013 Rentapen Inc. introduced four new RAPid Blocks™ to their free web app. which features an exclusive line of weld-tooling components, known as RAPid Tooling Components™ (RTC).

Rentapen Inc. has been helping manufacturers, specifically, CAD Drafters and Machine Design Engineers with their weld fixture designs.  Rentapen Inc. is constantly adding to their RTC line in response to their customers need for weld fixtures fast.

Job50600Fixture01Job50600Fixture02

 

When a machine design engineer, is designing a weld fixture they can go to Rentapen’s website and download 3D models of any RAPid Tooling Components™ they want.  In fact, the designer actually creates the parts according to their specific application right on the site, without having to search in a paper catalog to find the right product number.  The site, Weld Fixture Components asks the right questions and with the answers creates the 3D parts and generates the part number.

The user can choose to download 3D models of blocks, plates, clamp risers and shims.  Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ are mostly used in weld fixtures, but have also been used in other machine tooling, like assembly fixtures.

We wanted to make it easier for machine tooling designers to find the right component for their needs.  We are excited to have the new blocks on the website and we are looking forward to our official launch of these new products in the next few weeks.

Recently, three new companies have taken advantage of Rentapen’s web app to download 3D models of RAPid Blocks™ and RAPid Shims™ into their fixture designs. First was a manufacturer of Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) out of Georgia.  Second, was a mechanical design company and the last company is a manufacturer of welding and cutting systems, which includes robotic arc welding and cutting.

Machine Design Engineers and CAD Drafters from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are able to go to Rentapen’s website and perform six quick steps to order the 3D models to place in their weld fixtures.

We encourage Tooling Engineers to save the 3D models to their libraries so that they can use them again and again. Before we created this line, companies were spending close to $100 on a similar block.  Now they buy it from us for under $40.  These components save an Machine Design Engineer’s time and their company’s money.

Rentapen Inc., is the Weld Fixture Specialist and, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components™ used in weld fixture design and build projects. Rentapen LLC, located in Butler, WI, has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976. 

Milwaukee, WI Weld Fixture Specialists Enhances Business Relationship With a Georgia Manufacturer.

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The Engineering Manager at Rentapen Inc., a growing weld-fixture design and build company, flew to Georgia to gain knowledge to better assist customer in 2013.

On June 18, 2013 Blake Peterson, Engineering Manager at Rentapen Inc met with the management team at a large Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) company that has been a customer for over a year.  Peterson went to Georgia to take a tour of their plant and to see the products that they are producing.  This visit was designed to better understand their needs, so that the weld fixtures that Rentapen creates for them are designed and built to their desires.

Blake Peterson_

“We want to be their one stop source for all of their weld fixture design and build needs,” said Engineering Manager of Rentapen, Blake Peterson.

Rentapen Inc, uses their own line of RAPid Tooling Components™ to design and build the special types of change over fixtures required by the Georgia OEM company.  The change-over fixtures allow the company to best utilize its manual and robotic weld cells and keep costs down for their customers.   The main table and rotating mechanism stays the same.   Each fixture is created on a plate that mounts to that main table.  This allows the Georgia Company to put more than one cell on a product to meet deadlines.

3D Models

Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ consist of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates, RAPid Risers™ and RAPid Shims™.   Rentapen’s website makes it easy for CAD Drafters and Engineers to download the right block, plate, riser, or steel shim pack for their machine design needs.

“The quick change-over plate style weld fixtures are perfect for our RAPid Tooling Component line,” said Susan Straley, President and Owner of Rentapen Inc.  “An OEM may make only 50 of one product and then have to use the same station for producing a different product.  They can put the first fixture in storage until they need it again.  The speed of the fixture design and build, the adjustability and the accuracy provided by our components are keys to a successful weld station for an OEM.”

Rentapen Inc., is the Weld Fixture Specialist and, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components™ used in weld fixture design and build projects. Rentapen Inc, located in Waukesha, WI, has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  Rentapen is a Certified Woman Owned Business and owner of RAPid Tooling Components™.

 

 

Milwaukee Weld Fixture Specialists Travel 200 Miles To Deliver Custom Steel Shim Order.

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The President and Founder of Rentapen Inc., a small machine design and build services company and manufacturer of weld fixture tooling components, drove from Waukesha, WI to Iowa to deliver precision shims to their customer.

On June 6, 2013 Rentapen Inc. received a large purchase order of metal shims to be cut and delivered by June 10, 2013 from a company that they have been doing business with for many years.  The machine tool and engineering design company is using the shims for a weld tooling and machine leveling project.

Laser Cut Steel Shim Sheet.

Laser Cut Steel Shim Sheet.

The order consisted of 96 metal shim packs for a total of 480 total shims. This work order was completed in less than 24 hours by Rentapen’s excellent team including Laser Operators and assembly workers.  Rentapen’s steel shims can be designed and cut into many different shapes and thicknesses.

 

“Our culture state says that we go the extra mile.  Well sometimes we have to go more than a mile to fulfill the needs of our customers,” said President Susan Straley.

Rentapen RAPid Shims™ are often used for adjustability in weld fixtures, and work holding fixtures.  Rentapen Inc. also to cuts Die Sharpening Shims, bridge shims custom shaped shims, stainless steel, steel and Naams shaped shims.  Rentapen Inc. has been in business since 1976 and is known in the industry as “the Shim King”.  Iowa machine tool design company relies on Rentapen Inc. for all their steel shim needs.

Custom Shims

Custom Shims

Rentapen Inc. cuts hundreds of thousands of shims each year and each order is different.  They use their RAPid Order Processing System™ to quote, cut, and ship their shims faster than most companies can even get out a quote.

Rentapen Inc., is the Weld Fixture Specialist and The Shim King, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc, located in Waukesha, WI, has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  Rentapen is a Certified Woman Owned Business and owner of RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.  Visit Renatpen’s Order 3D Model page to download your RAPid Tooling Components today!

 

 

Local Race Car Driver Gets Sponsorship From The Weld Fixture Specialist.

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Rentapen Inc., of Waukesha, WI, a 3D design services company and tooling components manufacturer sponsors a race car at Slinger Speedway in Slinger, Wisconsin.

On April 27, 2013 Slinger Speedway opened up their gates and let the fans come in for the first race of the season.  Paul Reagles is one of the drivers that you can see speeding around the track at around 70 miles per hour.  When Paul isn’t racing he is attending Waukesha County Technical College for a degree in Mechanical Design/Engineering.  Paul also works part time as an intern at Rentapen Inc.

Reagles is a Mechanical Design and Draft Intern at Rentapen Inc; he started in February 2013.  His main duties are to use sketches and instructions from the designer to create assemblies in Solidworks and Pro/Engineer.  Rentapen Inc. specializes in building and designing weld fixtures for companies within the manufacturing industry.  Reagles is one of three interns that Rentapen Inc currently employees.

Paul and Car

Slinger Speedway opened in 1948, and the speedway has been a popular track for racing legends and stars such as Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Rich Bickle, and Rusty Wallace.  Slinger is known as the World’s Fastest Quarter Mile Oval track and is now celebrating its 65th year of motorsports.

“I couldn’t wait for the new race season to start; I was so excited to try out my new racecar. I really appreciate all the help and support I received from Rentapen along with all my other sponsors.” said Paul Reagles

Realges races in the Slinger Bee Class which is made up of 4 cylinder front wheel drive cars.  He will be racing in a different car than last year, but he will remain in the same class.  Reagles will race a blue and black 1995 Ford Escort GT with a total of 13 sponsors, including Rentapen Inc.

Paul Reagles

“Paul is learning fast about Pro/E, CAD and machine design.  He knows how to remain alert to changes and how to pay attention just like he has to do while racing his car on the track.” said President Susan Straley

 

Rentapen’s main specialty is weld fixture design. They can design a manual or robotic welding fixtures based on the customer’s needs. Rentapen Inc. helps manufacturers that have parts that need to be welded together during production, for example, automotive, agricultural, or recreational vehicles.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  Rentapen is a Certified Woman Owned Business and owner of RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

Weld Fixture Tooling Executives Travel 1,166 Miles in Six Days to Meet Long-distance Customers.

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The President and Founder of Rentapen Inc., a small machine design and build services company and manufacturer of weld fixture tooling components, drove from Alabama to Michigan gathering feedback from Customers.

On April 26, 2013 Founder, George Straley and President, Susan Straley arrived in Waukesha, Wisconsin after traveling 1,166 miles in 6 days.  The husband and wife duo traveled from Florida to Wisconsin making five stops along the way.  They met with machine tooling design and build customers, a robot and automation systems company, a furniture manufacturer, and a manufacturer of forklifts.

Sue and George Straley - Owners of Rentapen Inc.

“Everyone was very friendly and gave us tours of their factories.  Most all of them reported being very busy, which is great for us,” Susan Straley said.  “I loved hearing how they are so glad they found us and like working with our team.”

One customer announced they were sending Rentapen 35 more fixtures to quote.

George Straley started Rentapen Inc. in 1976 and has been designing machines since.  In the 1980’s the Straley’s moved their business to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and became a provider of 2D Computer Aided Drafting (CAD).  They soon started designing in Pro/E 3D solid modeling and quickly became the experts.  They have helped several customers set up Pro/Engineer for Machine Design, automating the bills of materials.  Soon after that the introduced a major cost saving product in weld fixture design with their own line of RAPid Tooling Components™.  In the beginning of producing their product, George and Susan packed RAPid Shims™ from their dining room table.

“Each time we train someone to sand, oil, count, and pack our precision metal shims.  I tell them about the hours that our family spent counting and packing shims at our kitchen table in 2002,” said Susan Straley.

Rentapen Inc. provides 3D design and build of weld and assembly fixtures.  Though Rentapen provides machine design engineering services to manufacturers, Rentapen also is a manufacturer.  Producing their line of RAPid Tooling Components™ that are used on weld and assembly fixtures located on production floors throughout the United States.  The line consists of Blocks, Plates, Clamp Risers and Shims.

Rentapen’s RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, Clamp Risers and Shims precisely hold a company’s product in their Weld Fixture while it is being manually or robotically assembled or welded.  Rentapen Inc specializes in weld fixtures for manufacturers.  When a company is tooling up their factory to produce their new product and the product contains items that need to be welded together, that company will call Rentapen to design and build a machine tool that they can use to improve efficiency on the production floor.

“We were able to see the fixtures we designed and built being used in the Robotic Weld Cells,” said George Straley.  “We listen in these meetings for areas we can improve or problems that we can solve.”

Rapid Tooling Components™ reduce the design cost of the fixture by eliminating the need to design, detail and check similar parts over and over again. Three dimensional computer models are provided by Rentapen Inc. that customers can use to incorporate into their designs.  These modular components are the new standard in weld jig and assembly fixture design.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

 Power, Automation and Robots — Manufacturing from Alabama to Michigan

Sales Goals Exceeded By 22% In First Quarter For Weld Fixture Tooling Components Company.

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Local Wisconsin Weld Fixture Specialist Company Sees Big Numbers In The First Quarter.

April 9, 2013, an article in the Milwaukee Area Business Journal entitled “Manufacturing growth to outpace GDP in 2013, 2014”  by Jeff Engel stated that the expert projections are that manufacturing will outpace overall economic growth in 2013 and 2014, with a 2.2 percent manufacturing increase in 2013 compared with overall gross domestic product growth of less than 2 percent.
Rentapen Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company located in Waukesha, WI has exemplified growth in the first quarter of 2013 by exceeding its sales goals by 22% in the first quarter.

Rentapen is a multifaceted manufacturing company with their ability to design and build many different types of weld fixtures.  Their engineers create 3D CAD drawings of weld and assembly tooling they design.  Rentapen’s customers sometimes just want the drawings and they build the fixtures in house.  Some customers prefer to get the fixture designed, built and tested by Rentapen.

3D ModelsAnother side to Rentapen Inc., is their line of RAPid Tooling Components™.  This line is made up of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, RAPid Risers™ and RAPid Shims™.  These components are used by manufacturers that build weld jigs and assembly fixtures and other types of work-holding tools.

Besides increasing sales, Rentapen Inc. has increased their customer base for RAPid Tooling Components™, Pro/E CAD and Solidworks Designs and weld fixture build projects.  They acquired twelve new customers in the first quarter.

The Business Journal article stated, “In Milwaukee, the manufacturing sector has expanded the past four months, according to the Institute for Supply Management – Milwaukee report compiled by Marquette University. “

Maybe this will help improve the job outlook for the area.  Rentapen’s factory has been busy enough in the past couple months to justify hiring help to pack their precision steel shims and shim packs — RAPid Shims™.

Rentapen’s shop team assembles, packages, and ships their RAPid Tooling Components™, including their custom and standard metal shims and shim packs.  Also, Rentapen has been seeking a Machine Tool Designer and Weld Fixture Design Project Lead Engineer.

“Not only are we a manufacturer, but we serve manufacturers.  So when manufacturing is busy, we get busy,” said Susan Straley, Rentapen’s President.

Sue and George Straley - Owners of Rentapen Inc.President and Co-Founder of Rentapen Inc., Susan and George Straley, have been dedicated to their machine designing company and satisfying their customers’ needs to reduce costs since 1976. They have continued to stay positive during these hard economic times and it has been paying off.

Rentapen’s increase in shim and tooling component sales are a result of an overall trend in Manufacturing in the Midwest. Manufacturers in the Midwest are growing in sales and investing in machine tooling.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components™. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

 

Weld Tooling Design Company Introduces New Cost Saving Clamp Risers

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Lean Manufacturers Discover Time and Cost Savings in Their Product-Holding Fixtures With Clamp Risers by Rentapen

In the beginning of April, 2013 Rentapen Inc. launched new website pages for their line of clamp risers and spacers.  The clamp risers are made specifically for different brands of clamps including: Wolverine, Carr Lane, REID, De-Sta-Co, TE-CO, All American, and Jergens.   Each riser or spacer is tapped and drilled for mounting the designated clamp and uses counter bored holes for mounting the riser or spacer to the fixture or jig.

Rentapen’s design team has been designing and building weld fixtures for over 35 years. They realized they were designing the same clamp risers over and over again.  So Rentapen developed what is now called RAPid Risers™,  a line of tooling components that hold all of the finest brands of part holding clamps.  These standardized yet versatile risers save manufacturers time and money when it comes to the design and build process.

Wolverine Clamps3D CAD Models of the risers can be downloaded from Rentapen’s website along with informational PDFs that detail the design of the RAPid Riser™.

 “By focusing our processes and skilled talent on what we do well, we free-up our customers time, energy, and talent to be more powerful and productive with what they do well,” said Susan Straley,  President of Rentapen.  “That gives them peace of mind and contributes to their success.”

If a designer created a clamp riser from scratch, like Rentapen and all other machine tooling design companies used to do, they would have to go through a timely and expensive process that includes: designing the part; detailing; checking; ordering material; writing the CNC code; creating the part and finally inspecting the part.

This entire process takes about 77 minutes. Manufacturers are now able to download the 3D model from Rentapen’s website, save the model to their library, put the riser into their design, and order the block.   Once the model is in the company’s CAD library, the process approximately takes 4 minutes.  Rentapen’s RAPid Riser™ is saving the manufacturers as much as 73 minutes in design and build time.

 “The RAPid Risers™ are just another way for the fixture builder to save time and money on the design and build of weld fixtures or any other type of fixture,” said, Steve Pautz, Product manager at E.L. Simeth Co. a distributor of the clamp risers.  “The Clamp Risers is just one part of this unique design system that really works. E.L. Simeth Company, as the distributor for this line, has customers that use the complete line so we know that it works very well,”

RapidRisersRapid Tooling Components™ reduce the design cost of the fixture by eliminating the need to design, detail and check similar parts over and over again. Three dimensional computer models are provided by Rentapen Inc. that customers can use to incorporate into their designs.  These modular components are the new standard in weld jig and assembly fixture design.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

Growing Weld Fixture Design and Build Company Takes Part In Efforts To Close Skills Gap In Wisconsin.

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Growing Weld Fixture Design and Build Company Takes Part In Efforts To Close Skills Gap In Wisconsin.

Rentapen Inc., of Waukesha, WI, a 3D Design Service Company and Tooling Components Manufacturer participating in the efforts to lessen the manufacturing and engineering skills gap.

On March 13, 2013 Governor Scott Walker signed the bill known as “Wisconsin Fast Forward”. This bill is designed to address the skills shortage in the state’s workforce and will better link employers and job seekers.

Rentapen Inc., a Machine Tool Design Company and Manufacturer of precision metal shims is just one of several manufactures helping with the effort to get the word out that jobs in manufacturing provide job security and require extensive skills. According to manufacturers, there is a large disconnect in Wisconsin between the workforce and the number of skilled workers ready to fill positions.

According to the panel of speakers at the New Faces of Manufacturing Summit hosted by Waukesha County Business Alliance, 68% of manufacturers reported a lack of talent or skills in the manufacturing industry.  High school students and college freshman, who have not determined a major, do not think about manufacturing.  When they do think of manufacturing, they think of it is dirty and made up of people who are low income and lower skilled.

Rentapen Inc. has been a member of the Waukesha County Business Alliance for almost two years and has been affected first hand by the skills gap.  Recently, Rentapen Inc. has joined the “Dream It Do It” Marketing Action Team.  This action team is made up of individuals around South-Eastern Wisconsin, and is dedicated to lessening the skills gap.

Rentapen Inc. has found that some of the most skilled workers are graduating from technical colleges.  Rentapen has hired over 5 individuals from Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) alone; these students have started as interns and have excelled and been retained.

PG3_9364“It’s exciting to be in manufacturing right now.  We are in a busy and growing industry.  Finding, training, and maintaining good talent is key to being competitive in the global marketplace,” said Susan Straley,  President of Rentapen.  “We are pleased to have the support of the College, and the State in helping manufacturers succeed in Wisconsin.”

The second part of the bill that Governor Walker signed creates a workforce training grant program at the Department of Workforce Development. This grant program will be used to leverage additional private dollars to help both new and current employees acquire additional job trainings skills.  The bill, coined “Wisconsin Fast Forward,” creates a website that uses real-time job data to match employers and potential workers, provides $15 million in state funds for worker training grants and creates an Office of Skills Development within the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to help provide specific training for employers who need workers with specific skills.

Rentapen Inc. and many other manufacturing companies are struggling to find skilled workers to fill a variety of positions because the education that people are getting does not fit the skills needed in the actual working environment. Individuals are taking courses to receive a 4-year diploma but are not attaining the correct skills needed to excel in the work place.

234a658 “The problem is parents and adults are pushing students to get degrees in subjects that do not necessarily prepare them for jobs that actually exist in the market,” said Thies.  “There is a large amount of history majors, political scientists and lawyers than is needed in the workforce.  At the same time, the average high schools do not have a manufacturing class or a program designed to teach about a CNC operator. There is also need for machinists and welders; these courses are not offered or encouraged in a lot of high schools throughout the state and the nation.”

 

Manufacturing is one of the fastest growing industries like nursing, retail and food service. The manufacturing sector is aging. Within the next five years a new generation of workers will need to have the skills and experience to take over for the generation that is leaving. Companies are trying to deal with the hundreds of years of experience that will be walking out the door in the next five to ten years. There may not be thousands of new jobs, but there will be thousands of openings, and Wisconsin does not have the skill sets to fill in.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

Please visit Rentapen’s Youtube channel to watch a variety of educational and entertaining videos!