Our focus on building an industry-friendly community around metal fabrication and manufacturing has never been stronger at FMA. Our foundation, Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs, is a big part of that effort. One of our proudest achievements since 2020 has to be the emergence of NBT inclusion camps for young adults with special needs or disabilities. 

Skills training is an important part of finding employment for every adult. By bringing together schools, social service agencies, manufacturers, and partner organizations in local communities, we are actively developing programs that serve this often-overlooked group of people. 

Recently we interviewed Tim Reibau, President and CEO of VPI, Inc. in Appleton, WI about his experience working with campers in the camp programs. He told us about the camps they’ve run over the last two summers, teaching soft skills and exposing their students to different types of manufacturing environments.  

By establishing relationships with manufacturers around the Appleton and Green Bay areas, VPI was able to give tours to these young adults and show them the various jobs available to them once they graduate. “It was a real great experience for us, for the campers, and quite frankly for the organizations that we toured these kids through,” he said. 

Reibau is working to bring together companies that are in desperate need of skilled workers and young people who are not always seen as a viable option for workforce demands – to find out where a camper’s interest and skills might be a good fit for available positions. But he’s not just making introductions.  

At the time of our interview, VPI had just hired an inclusion camp student for their inventory department. 

“We’ve seen placement within our facilities, and with some of the partners in the community; we just hired a camper from this summer,” Reibau said, adding that this is “…a job that he probably didn’t know existed, his parents didn’t know existed for him and it’s a really nice starting point.” 

NBT inclusion camps are growing each year, and with the latest awards of grants and generous donations from our NBT community – we hope to grow them even more in years to come. If you’d like to make a donation to help us build this community further, please visit our donation page or contact our staff today.