Page 39 - MetalForming-Mar-2018-issue

Oberg Industries, Freeport, PA
Recognizing the company’s longtime commitment to employee educa- tion and empowerment, this past December the Tri-County Investment Board presented Oberg Industries, Freeport, PA, with the 2017 Employer of the Year Award. In honoring the com- pany, a full-service contract manufac- turer of precision machined and stamped components located just outside of Pittsburgh, the board lauded Oberg’s “efforts to support and utilize the local workforce-development system.”
Celebrating 70 years in 2018, Oberg continues to grow. Since 2011, when the company earned its Pioneer Award, its sales have grown from $105 million to more than $130 million, as have its employee roster—now more than 800 —and floor space. In addition, the com- pany has invested $15 million in new equipment in just the past three years.
“We want to position ourselves to grow in the 5- to 6-percent range, and
Partnering with a local high school, in 2014 Oberg established the Junior Apprentice Advantage (JAA) program. Shown are members of the 2017 JAA team.
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/March 2018 37
finding people through workforce devel- opment is a major part of that goal,” says Dave Rugaber, Oberg executive vice president. “The goal in everything we do, including process excellence and employee growth, is to drive success
for our customers.”
The company’s motto: “Customers
rely on us and we rely on our people.” Backing up those words, Joe O’Brien, Oberg’s director of human resources, cited a laundry list of initiatives to
BY LOUIS A. KREN AND
JOE JANCSURAK
Workforce-Development Update:
Pioneer
Award
Winners
In 2011, The Precision Metalforming Association Educational Foundation (PMAEF), through a grant from the Hitachi Foundation, recognized successful metalforming companies driven by production-employee skill enhancement and advancement opportunities. Those companies, and their workforce-development efforts, were profiled in the pages of MetalForming. See the original articles at www.metalformingmagazine.com/pioneer. Here we revisit some of the winners to see how their efforts have progressed. Suffice to say, it’s full-speed ahead.