Page 44 - MetalForming-Mar-2018-issue
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Pioneer Award Winners
  Success: Octavio Villegas, Die Maker
Octavio Villegas, who recently completed his tool and die apprenticeship after completing Diemasters’ LISSTs training, describes his train- ing as life changing and challenging, recalling long days in the shop and evenings spent studying.
“I am a father of four,” says Villegas, “so it was hard for my family. Now, thanks to my train- ing, I have more income and more time to spend with my family. My kids see me as an example of how education can provide a better future.”
To say that Villegas, who worked in the deburring area and as a material handler and setup technician before becoming a die maker, is bursting with pride may be an understatement. “I work with precision instruments, make my own tools and help oth- ers,” he says. “I am an important part of our company; I am a die maker.”
 and manufacturing-overhead costs. Meanwhile inventory and receivables remain constant.”
Another constant at Diemasters is its commitment to employee training, as seen in The Diemasters Productivity System (TDPS) and its centerpiece— the LISSTs training series, named for its five components: lean manufactur- ing, inherent simplicity and Theory of Constraints, safety first, Six Sigma and TS 16969. “The success of TDPS has enabled us to pass our recent IATF quality audit (the new TS 16949 auto- motive quality-assurance standard) on the first try,” says DeLay. “This puts us in an elite category with our top cus- tomers as their first IATF stamper.”
DeLay continues: “We now have three Six Sigma black belts and two green belts. This emphasis on Six Sigma
is important because it reduces varia- tion and increases throughput in our process, and produces a more efficient,
less costly part for our customers. Lean also remains an important part of our culture, and is constantly reinforced
 Pridgeon & Clay, Grand Rapids, MI
  When it comes to employee educa- tion and training, Pridgeon & Clay (P&C), Grand Rapids, MI, has continued to put its money and human-resources efforts where its heart is since receiving the Precision Metalforming Association’s Metalforming Pioneer Award in 2011 and PMA’s A.R. Hedberg Training and Education Award in 2013. The $350-mil- lion international manufacturer of stamped and fineblanked parts
has doubled its annual tuition reimbursement (now at $10,500
per employee), introduced its nine-module CORE curriculum
for hourly and salaried employ-
ees, and maintained its On- The-Job Training (OJT) and Automatic Press Operator
(APO) programs.
This commitment to employ-
ee education and training,
which started back in the
1990s, by co-owners Bob and Don Clay, is an important factor in the company’s continued success, says President Mike Alcala, who reports that the company’s “annualized revenues have grown at a double-digit rate over the last few years.”
As a passionate proponent of employee education, Mike Alcala, president of Pridgeon & Clay, teaches the business section of the company’s CORE curriculum.
 42 MetalForming/March 2018
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Alcala joined P&C in May 2014 as COO and shortly thereafter
became president. With more than two decades’ experience in executive lead- ership, primarily in the automotive industry, Alcala teaches the business section of the CORE curriculum, launched in June 2017.
“It is significant to note that our pres- ident is dedicated to training and edu- cation,” says Lisa Hanning, vice presi- dent of human resources, “and that he hasn’t missed one training session since the launch. That certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by our employees.”
The CORE curriculum, one of four categories of P&C’s Training Academy, consists of nine courses, which include







































































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