Page 32 - MetalForming July 2013

Building a StrongWorkforce,
Generation by Generation
The U.S. metalforming workforce now includes
three generations, each with different values, work styles, strengths and challenges. As with all types of diversity in the workplace, generational differences can lead to conflict. But differences also can be leveraged to create innovation.
At E.J. Ajax and Sons, a third-gen- eration precision metalforming company located in Fridley, MN, a partnership between an experienced master tool and die maker from the Baby Boom generation and a Millennial manufacturing intern is leading to cus- tomer-focused cost-cutting innovations.
In many ways, Paul Swirtz, the Baby Boomer (and former owner of his own tool and die company), and Talon Ganz, the Millennial, are true representatives of their respective generations.
• Boomers (born before 1965): Driv- en by work and career; goal-driven and self-managed; prefer in-person com- munication; sometimes challenged by technology.
• Millennials (born between 1982 and 2001): Focused on work-life bal- ance and flexibility; value feedback; want challenging and meaningful work with rapid advancement; technology- savvy.
Despite their differences in age and experience, Swirtz and Ganz joined the company at roughly the same time. E.J. Ajax acquired Swirtz’s tool and die operation in 2012 after a 30-yr. rela- tionship as a trusted tooling supplier. Although not ready to retire (charac- teristic of Boomers), Swirtz was ready to focus on his tool-building and design
Paul Swirtz, former owner of his own tool and die company, is a Baby Boomer—goal- driven and self-managed.
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expertise and leave the sales, marketing and business details behind. E.J. Ajax was in need of expanded inhouse tool- ing capability to reduce lead times and better-manage costs for our customers.
Mentoring a Two-Way Street
Meanwhile, Ganz was one of the first recipients of the E.J. Ajax Scholar- ship in Manufacturing at Dunwoody College of Technology, which our com- pany created to help address the short- age of skilled workers. We sought to place our company in front of the best
and the brightest of today’s post-sec- ondary students. In addition to cover- ing one semester of tuition and fees, we offered scholarship recipients a full- time paid internship during school breaks, and a few hours of work per week during the school year. Ganz immediately expressed an interest in tool and die making.
We asked Swirtz to mentor Ganz, but from the beginning theirs was a two-way relationship. “We really did mesh well,” says Ganz. “He has a skill set that’s completely different from