Wixom, January 2023
On a recent Saturday morning, AFC-Holcroft invited employees and their families, company retirees and invited guests, to view the newly renovated building as part of an Open House.
Purpose of the Open House was twofold: first, it was to show off the renovations to family and friends, while the other goal was to raise the profile of manufacturing and engineering to school-aged and college-bound students, giving them a real-world look at an actual working environment with a diversity of career options.
The day began with general presentation of “what is heat treating” to introduce guests to the “why” of what we make. Company President and CEO Bill Disler led each session with a short overview of AFC-Holcroft, highlighting its 100 year history, customer base, global reach and other aspects to those who may have had only a limited knowledge of the company.
Following a short ‘why and how’ of heat treating using common objects to illustrate some of the metallurgical goals of heat treatment, the sessions disbursed among multiple employee volunteers who were stationed around the facility. On the manufacturing floor, guests were given a demonstration of HMI programs, an overview of our shipping and receiving areas and a look at the amount of inventory and spare parts we carry in support of our business. Afterwards, they moved to our Engineering areas, where more employee volunteers demonstrated 3D modeling.
Next was a general tour of the building where various new environmentally-friendly upgrades and innovative design features had been recently implemented, and toward the end employees had a chance to show their loved ones their individual departments and workspaces. Very young children were treated to gift bags with toys, while all ages were offered snacks.
At the conclusion of the AFC-Holcroft agenda, the guests traveled to nearby Atmosphere Heat Treating, where they got to see fully-operational heat treating furnaces in operation in an actual commercial heat treatment setting.
Disler said, “The best work environments are usually those who acknowledge that workers have a life outside of their job which at times crosses into family time. So the more the family understands about the work life, the more supportive they may be when those times occur. And on another topic, we also understand the challenges this company and others will face in finding and training the next generation of the workforce. So even in this small way, every opportunity we can find to introduce children to math, science, technology and manufacturing is a win for everyone.”