St. Charles, IL – Offsetting gloomy economic indicators, CBS Evening News reports a survey found 26% of U.S. manufacturers plan to add jobs between April and June. Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. is one of those manufacturers, having added over 50 new jobs in the last year, with a half dozen positions still to be filled. The fractional horsepower gearmotor manufacturer’s products are used in everything from medical equipment to ice cream machines. Bison and its customers are experiencing strong growth despite foreign competition and reports of a looming recession.
Job growth at Bison Gear is in high-paying skilled labor, the subject of the CBS Evening News series “Hard Times, Good Jobs” that kicked off with the Bison Gear feature. “The machine tools we use are about the price of a Ferrari,” said Ron Bullock, owner and Chairman of Bison Gear. “So you need to have good computer skills if you’re going to work in high-tech manufacturing today.”
As a result of Bullock’s concern with the quality of secondary education and the shortage of skilled entry-level workers in manufacturing, in 2007 Bison Gear announced its Skilled Workforce Initiative. In the initiative, manufacturing leaders, educational institutions, economic and workplace development organizations came together to create a talent pool of better qualified employees with plans to offer long term stable employment.
–View the video of the March 11, 2008 CBS Evening News “Hard Times, Good Jobs” series featuring Bison Gear
–Read the transcript of the March 11, 2008 CBS Evening News “Hard Times, Good Jobs” series featuring Bison Gear
::Design World::
Filed Under: Commentaries • insights • Technical thinking, Motors (gearmotors)