Workforce Training Success at Henke Manufacturing
Centrally located in Leavenworth, Kansas, Henke Manufacturing has 100+ years of experience in the design and manufacture of snowplows and other attachments.
Recognized as an industry leader, Henke’s unique product features have allowed Henke’s sales to grow significantly over the past several years. Sales of Henke’s products are handled through a network of industrial and truck equipment dealers located throughout the United States. Four Henke Regional Sales Managers administer the sales process. Most of Henke’s sales are made to city, county and state government agencies.
A recent factory expansion and new innovative products is contributing to Henke’s growth. Also, the close proximity to Kansas City’s active trucking hub allows for fast and economical shipping.
In 2014, Kansas Manufacturing Solutions (KMS), formerly MAMTC, formed a partnership with Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) that over the course of two years turned into a subrecipient partnership. The partnership was developed to provide workforce training support to manufacturers in the region as well as provide support to manufacturing start-ups through the Entrepreneurship Innovation Center at KCKCC.
Henke Manufacturing identified a skills gap in the production staff when it came to building equipment but were unsure of what the exact issues were. Finding the solutions to these issues were key as Henke was positioned for growth through a building expansion and the development and deployment of new products.
Additionally, KCKCC was able to supplement the recruiting efforts of Henke and trained and placed several new employees in high wage jobs at the plant.
Results:
- Henke has sent over 30 staff members through 15 week training
- Eight new jobs were created at Henke because of the training programs developed and delivered through KCKCC.
- As a result of increased productivity and capability, invested about 2.5 Million Invested in the facility, will save about 1.5 Million
- Doing these upgrades helped company meet the needs of several new large customers which amounted to about $1.5 Million in new sales and $6 Million in retained sales.
“We could not be more pleased with our relationship with Kansas City Kansas Community College. They really came in and understood our needs and were hugely instrumental in helping us gear up to acquire new customers and develop and deliver new product offerings.”
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