Skilled Trades Staffing & Training Summit for Manufacturing Plants

The problem: General job boards gave Toledo Steel Supply, a steel processor hiring year-round across three- and four-shift operations, plenty of applicants but poor fit for roles like crane operator, burn operator and maintenance technician.

Published result: FactoryFix's manufacturing hiring platform: average time to fill went from 20 days in H1 2024 to 8 days in H1 2025, applicants from 235 to 729, hires from 37 to 48, and annual recruiting spend from $26,000 in 2023 to $13,500 in 2024 (measured; as reported by FactoryFix).

Invited: FactoryFix, with Toledo Steel Supply · Read the published case

The problem: Petoskey Plastics, a film plastics maker with plants in Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas, had too many unqualified applicants and too little time to find the right ones for roles such as maintenance technician and electrical and controls team lead.

Published result: FactoryFix, launched in May 2025: 146 recruiting hours saved in 4 months, 675 candidates sourced, 4 hires to date, average cost per hire $1,610 and time to hire under 3 weeks, shown as "50% CPH Savings" (measured; as reported by FactoryFix).

Invited: FactoryFix, with Petoskey Plastics · Read the published case

The problem: A large agricultural tire manufacturer in Illinois had turnover of over 60% and was 40 positions short of its staffing needs.

Published result: A QPS onsite manager ran recruiting and daily staffing on site: turnover reduced by 36% in just three months, all open positions filled, and additional lines started that increased plant capacity (measured; as reported by QPS Employment Group, April 5, 2024).

Invited: QPS Employment Group · Read the published case

The problem: A snack food manufacturer's flagship facility had frequent breakdowns because a shortage of skilled maintenance technicians and high staff turnover left routine maintenance behind.

Published result: ATS took over maintenance from its Chicago regional hub: unplanned downtime down 63%, "saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually", preventive maintenance completion over 85% and 96% maintenance worker retention (period not stated; as reported by Advanced Technology Services).

Invited: Advanced Technology Services (ATS) · Read the published case

The problem: Flexaust, a maker of flexible hose and ducting in Warsaw, Indiana, builds mostly to customer specification and had put little emphasis on eliminating waste in production.

Published result: Purdue MEP trained 22 employees in over 120 hours over eight months (value stream mapping, 5S, quick changeover, TPM): a 25% reduction in set-up times, mandrel-line production doubled from 100 to 200 feet per shift, and a $120,000 capital commitment for new machining (as reported by Purdue MEP via NIST, December 19, 2025).

Invited: Purdue MEP, with Flexaust · Read the published case

The problem: Staffing issues meant Thermo Fisher's Marietta, Ohio biosafety cabinet plant (about 458 people) had to train new and transitional employees outside its regular annual training.

Published result: OSU South Centers MEP and Rozel Consultants ran an NFPA 70E electrical safety field audit of qualified electrical workers with feedback to each worker: 30 increased/retained jobs, $25,000 in new investment and $15,000 in cost savings (as reported by the OSU South Centers MEP via NIST).

Invited: OSU South Centers MEP and Rozel Consultants, with Thermo Fisher Scientific · Read the published case

The problem: After business grew 30% in a year, MSP Manufacturing, a precision machining shop for aerospace and defense, needed more CNC skill to make parts faster and cross-trained inspectors to keep up.

Published result: Purdue MEP trained 8 employees on Mastercam CNC and a Faro Arm CMM and 2 as AS9100D internal auditors: 25% time savings in quality inspection, "$50,000 in estimated improved productivity annually" and 5-10% increased sales (estimated; as reported by Purdue MEP via NIST).

Invited: Purdue MEP, with MSP Manufacturing · Read the published case