A group of forty students from ROCORI High School and their instructor, Jay Larson, toured Rotochopper’s manufacturing facility as part of their Intro to Metals I classes. The students have been busy learning about and practicing different types of welding in their class.
Rotochopper Production Manager, Keith Burg, and Shop Supervisor, Chad Molitor led the group through the facility, stopping to highlight areas of interest including the flame tables, press brakes, robots and different production and assembly areas. Questions asked during the tour included: how many employees does Rotochopper have, how much would someone out of high school earn working at Rotochopper, what types of welding do we do, the different gases used to weld, and how we use welding wire stored in barrels for our process. The students were also very interested to learn about where our machines go, how much they cost, and the time and process to paint a machine.
Instructor, Jay Larson said, “I think it is really important to show students opportunities that exist in manufacturing. I love sharing success stories like Rotochopper with my students. It really is a great example of how an idea can grow into the company it is today.” The students were also surprised to learn how Rotochopper started as a small company and over 30 years has grown into the company it is today.
Rotochopper CEO, Tosh Brinkerhoff, met with the students following the tour to offer words of encouragement and answer questions.
If you know of a group that would like a tour, contact our Director of Community Relations.