Careers

A Competitor Saved Our Bacon!

March 15th, 2023

One of our competitors, Batesville Tool & Die, Inc. was responsible for saving our bacon here at McGregor Metal over the weekend.

Friday night, as we were faced with a critical shortage of this rubber insert, (see photo) and days away from idling several automotive assembly plants throughout North America, our friends at Batesville identified some of their own inventory of inserts and diverted 7,500 pieces our way.

We picked them up Saturday morning, and are making several expedited shipments to our customers today, thereby averting the crisis.

Jody Fledderman did not have to help us. But he did. And all of us McGregor Metal are grateful for his willingness to help and for his friendship.

A heartfelt thanks to Batesville Tool & Die, Inc. for being a world-class friend as well as a world-class producer of metal stampings and related assemblies.

A Special Honor & Nomination

March 14th, 2023

Last month, McGregor Metal was nominated by the Nehemiah Fondation for "Workplace of Belonging". Our Leffel Works HR Manager, Summer Garrett, shared her story about being laid off from her previous employer of 23 years and how McGregor Metal welcomed her to the team and gave her a new employer to belong too!

Improving The Employee Experience

Nov 30th, 2022

When we rhetorically asked the crowd for feedback at our annual associate meeting in January, someone among the audience shouted, "new bathrooms!" to great laughter and snickers. 

But the McGregor Executive team took the suggestion seriously. And we did something about it. We're showing thanks and giving respect to our associates by actively listening and with action. This photo captures only a snippet of the $500,000 we spent on new and upgraded restroom facilities. In total, we've remodeled 18 bathrooms and added a bunch more to our factories. 

Frankly, we waited too long to do this project. But, we are committed to making continued investments, wherever necessary, to improve the employee experience at McGregor as we aspire to be the employer of choice in manufacturing in our community.

$10 Million Investment

Jan 27, 2022

A Springfield manufacturer is consolidating its four facilities in the area under a single name as the company has seen recent growth that is leading to more jobs and millions of dollars in investments.

McGregor Metalworking Companies will be rebranding itself as McGregor Metal and its four facilities in Springfield, each with a distinctive name and brand, will follow suit.

The change comes as the company is looking to have more cohesive branding as well as grow after enduring a steady decline in revenue between 2014 and 2019.

The rebranding and consolidation was announced on Wednesday as company officials held presentations throughout the day to address and inform workers about the manufacturer’s future.

The company will act as one unified entity, the leadership structure will stay the same and the facilities will not be relocated, said McGregor’s CEO Jamie McGregor.

The company is also looking to increase its workforce to 400 people and is currently looking to fill 50 positions as well as to invest a total of $10 million in equipment, facilities and operations by the end of 2022.

That includes a 20,000-square-foot addition to its Leffel Works facility. The project will costs $2.2 million and construction is slated to start in the spring and be completed by the fall.

Other investments that have been or will be made include purchasing a new press, adding almost two dozen welders and implementing new machining centers. Some of those investments have started late last year but the vast majority will take place this year.

This follows a trend upward in terms of company revenue that was seen in 2021. That came as the coronavirus pandemic had previously took a toll on the company leading to a drastic decrease in workforce as well as a sizable drop in revenue in 2020.

The company had been previously facing pre-pandemic challenges as former long time customers began to outsource work to other countries and McGregor Metal had difficulty competing.

The company has made parts such as metal stampings, machine components, weldments and split-steel pulleys.

Revenues for the manufacturer was reported to be $76 million in 2014 and that number dropped to $53 million in 2019. Revenue dipped down to $43 million in 2020 before going up to $57 million in 2021.

During the pandemic, McGregor’s workforce dropped from over 270 associates down to 93 people. The company has since brought back many employees and is now looking to grow its workforce even more.

Jamie McGregor said they are looking to get the company’s total employment up to 400 people and that will include jobs at all of its facilities in the Springfield area.

Supply chain issues have improved and the company has adapted to pre-pandemic challenges by finding new clients as well as making changes in terms of products and parts.

“We reinvented ourselves in terms of the parts that we make and the products that we supply. We added some new customers to the mix and that is what is really getting us to were we want to be,” McGregor said.

He added that they are hoping to continue to grow over next few years, that could include more jobs and investments as well as opportunities for the company.

What Really Matters

June 01, 2022

I posted a teaser last week about an announcement McGregor was making about a building expansion. But in light of the events in Uvalde, Texas, that news doesn't really seem important.

Rather, I've attached a photo of the results of a brainstorming activity our executive team was doing this morning on an Accountability initiative we're rolling out at McGregor called: McGregor Safe McGregor Clean McGregor Measure

We independently generated ideas we thought were important on post-it notes and attached them to a wall. Then, they were grouped together thematically for individual team members to rank what each of us believed to be the priority.

As you see from the photo, "active shooter protocol" rose to the top.

Traditionally, we've thought of safety compliance as wearing earplugs, safety glasses, steel toed boots and gloves. Now, we are thinking of property access control, gates, locked doors and badges.

Let's all gather our teams for a frank discussion regarding our obligations to keep our associates safe. This conversation has never been more urgent than it is today.

Inflation Is Real

June 15th, 2022

I bought gas this morning and paid $115 to fill up my tank. Inflation is real. And it is painful for many of us.

That’s why this morning at McGregor Metal, we announced an immediate, across the board pay increase for every associate, salary and hourly, at every level of skill. Everyone. Period.

Although we know there’s much more to an employee experience than pay, this increase acknowledges the realities of today’s economics and sets the stage for further enhancements to those who wear McGregor Metal apparel.