Iron Foundry Named Large Business Of The Year, Best Place to Work

March 29, 2013—Waupaca Foundry, Inc. was named Large Business of the Year for 2013 by the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce. The award was presented in the Chamber’s annual banquet on January 24, 2013. To qualify, the company must be in business for five or more years, have more than 20 employees, provide community service and enrich life in the community.

Waupaca Foundry is the largest employer in the area with 1,620 people in the Waupaca county region and 2,070 employees at plants in Marinette, WI, Tell City, IN and Etowah, TN. The Foundry operates three production facilities in Waupaca County and employs residents in roles including management, administration, metallurgy, and gray iron casting production. There has been a foundry in continuous operation in Waupaca County since 1871.

Residents of the Waupaca County region also voted Waupaca Foundry the “Best Place to Work” based on a poll taken by local publications owned by Multi-Media Channels.

According to Waupaca Foundry managers, the skilled local workforce is the reason for the company’s success. “We’re proud of the hardworking, skilled workers in the region,” said Joey Leonard, vice president of human resources for Waupaca Foundry. “Our goal is to provide our dedicated employees with high quality employment and in return, their loyalty has helped us realize extremely low turnover throughout the years.” Leonard says employee turnover at Waupaca foundry locations is consistently below the national average.

Additionally, Leonard says it is common to employ generations of workers from the same families. “Foundry work gets in your blood,” he said. “We have many instances of members of the same family working side by side; even sons working with fathers. We’re proud of that strong tradition.”

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