The Moraine Park Foundation honored area businesses for supporting its Forming Alliances to Cultivate Talent (FACT) program on Thursday, March 3.

Through the FACT program, generous contributions from participating partners help support Moraine Park Technical College students enrolled in manufacturing-related programs. In turn, Moraine Park students earn incentives to complete a manufacturing-related degree, while area businesses have a larger, more qualified pool of applicants to fill industry needs.

To date, the FACT initiative has raised $288,075 for scholarships and formed partnerships with 18 area companies that support the vision.

Jenni Morse, a second-year mechanical design student at Moraine Park, told those in attendance the FACT program has had a profound impact on her life – not just as a student, but as a mom as well.

“Your scholarship has helped me exponentially this year, and I appreciate it … I am forever grateful to donors like you. By helping me continue my education, you are also providing my child a better platform for a successful future. The education I’ve gained from my time at Moraine Park is invaluable and has made me a more attractive job candidate,” Morse said.

Steve Peterson, president and CEO of Mid-States Aluminum, also spoke at the event.

He said, from a business standpoint, supporting FACT is a sound investment in creating talented workers, because Moraine Park “does a wonderful job of educating people and meeting the needs of the manufacturing community.”

But, more important, Peterson said that the gifts through FACT are ones that can keep giving in other ways, and he encouraged FACT scholarship recipients to pay-it-forward - not just in monetary ways, but with their cultivated talents and a commitment to help others.

“This is about giving back. The generation before me gave back so that I could have a wonderful career in manufacturing. Our generation is giving back so that you can hopefully have a wonderful career. And I hope you think about that as you go on from here,” Peterson said.

The following companies were honored for their participation and contributions to the FACT program: Amerequip; Fond du Lac Area Foundation; J.F. Ahern Co.; Cole Manufacturing Corp.; Fives Giddings & Lewis; AT&T Foundation; Mercury Marine; Kondex Corporation; Mid-States Aluminum Corp.; Helgesen Industries, Inc.; Michels Corporation; METKO, Inc.; Ted & Grace Bachhuber Foundation, Inc.; TAB Products Co LLC; Bradley Corporation; Sadoff Iron & Metal Company; Server Products; and Maysteel LLC.

For more information about Moraine Park’s FACT initiative, visit morainepark.edu/fact.

For more information on Maysteel’s sheet metal capability, visit https://www.maysteel.com/capabilities

About Maysteel LLC

Maysteel LLC specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing custom, precision, OEM sheet metal enclosures, electrical cabinets and metal fabricated assemblies. The company’s product solutions are widely used in the alternative energy, kiosk, gaming, security, medical, utility, industrial drive and automation, and self-serve/vending machine industries and are also found in a variety of other applications. Maysteel specializes in providing the lowest total product cost by employing design for manufacturability (DFM) solutions throughout the product lifecycle. Maysteel was founded in 1936 and today has manufacturing locations in Allenton, Wis. and Monterrey, Mexico. Maysteel is owned by the U.S.-based Revolution Capital Group.