Maintainer Corporation opens ‘Maintainer University' for employee training
SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) — A specialized kind of education can be found in Sheldon at Maintainer Corporation of Iowa.
The company has been crafting 'premium truck bodies' since 1976, but just recently built a new space that is home to 'Maintainer University.' The specialized training center provides new employees a starting point for their employment while also giving current employees a chance to explore new opportunities within the company.
The university includes simulated paint, welding and electrical bay, as well as other plant operations. But just as importantly to company management is real work training, including everything from learning a language to banking skills.
'I'd say it's about 70 percent vocational wiring, painting electrical hydraulics and 30 percent committed to helping people develop personally anything from continuing education to learning a new language,' Maintainer Corporation of Iowa President and CEO Shelley Morris said.
Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon seeing growth
'This may be the new way of doing training around the area and how to change what we're doing to really help the employee,' Vice President of Engineering & Manufacturing Shane Vander Kooi said. 'Do a better job in their work but also in their own life, no matter what that is.'
It's often said that knowledge is power. Training manager Milt McPike says getting the right people on the right bus makes a big difference when it comes to employee satisfaction.
'We try not to pigeonhole people to one thing,' he said. 'There's multiple things we can do here to find out what the best path is for you and what makes you happy.'
Maintainer is located on the south side of Sheldon just off of Highway 60.
For more of KCAU 9's Hometown Proud stories, CLICK HERE.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jim Carlin discusses 2026 campaign bid for U.S. Senate
IOWA (KCAU) — One of the candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat that Iowa Senator Joni Ernst currently holds is speaking out. Jim Carlin is running as a Republican and was a state legislator from 2017 to 2022. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 but was defeated by Republican incumbent Chuck Grassley in the GOP primary. During his time in the Iowa Legislature, Carlin said he helped passed the fetal heartbeat bill and exposed abuse at the Iowa Veterans Home. The Republican candidate said as a state lawmakers, he introduced a measure to implement active shooter training in all schools in Iowa. Carlin said the reason behind this campaign run is that Senator Ernst has not lived up to her promises. He said that Iowans deserve to have a voice in Washington, D.C. 'Well, I think a lot of people right now feel like they're not being represented, particularly in government. The government's done a lot of things that I've heard people. We saw a 20% inflation last year; we have a massive deficit, but my big concern is the fact that these trends are going to be realities that our children and our grandchildren's future. That's why I ran the last time,' said Jim Carlin (R), candidate for U.S. Senate. Story continues below Top Story: 1 taken to hospital after fire at Pheasant Acres Lights & Sirens: Estherville man arrested after high-speed chase in 2 states Sports: West Sioux boys soccer wins first-ever IHSAA State title with 2-1 OT win Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here Carlin said he would be glad to debate Senator Ernst. The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate said he would bring the voice of Siouxlanders to the nation's capital in multiple ways, including calling for the red tape to be cut. 'I think the process is largely driven by big corporate interest at the expense of the people, and that's affected the agriculture sector, the pharmaceutical sector, the big tech sector, the finance sector. I mean, they're all being affected by the centralization that's kind of taken over our government well that not having a voice in the marketplace ends up hitting the political sphere. We have to be aware of that. We have to deregulate certain industries,' said Carlin. Carlin said he wants bring back some semblance of fair market capitalism into the U.S. He said the country needs to own its responsibility of the national debt, which is more than $36.2 trillion, as of June 9. The GOP candidate said there also needs to be campaign finance reforms. Carlin said he supports President Trump's America First agenda. 'Because since World War II, our economic interests have taken a back seat in almost every turn. Our manufacturing base has been shipped overseas. We have been treated very unfairly, and we footed the bill for a lot of wars, you know, overseas, the never-ending wars that we've paid for. We can't stay those courses. In limited instances, yes, but, but the never-ending wars we found ourselves in with trillions of dollars being spent, we can't do that,' said Carlin. Carlin is set to hold a family-friendly launch event for his campaign on June 12 in Cedar Rapids. There are at least 3 other candidates in the race so far. Those are Democratic candidates Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten and U.S. Army & Marine Corps veteran Nathan Sage. The other Republican candidate is U.S. Navy veteran Joshua Smith. Senator Ernst has yet to formally announce her re-election bid. She did hire a campaign manager for her re-election campaign on June 6. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Local firework retailers won't affect 2025, but may affect 2026
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (KCAU) —With the Fourth of July less than a month away, many Siouxlanders will be buying fireworks soon. Most 1.4g, or consumer, fireworks come from China. How will recent tariffs on Chinese imports announced by President Donald Trump affect the price of fireworks? According to one local fireworks retailer, tariffs shouldn't affect prices this year, but that could change in the future. Story continues below Top Story: 185th Air Refueling Wing welcomes new Commander with ceremony Lights & Sirens: Man denied new trial, sentenced for deadly rollover near Salix Sports: West Sioux boys soccer wins first-ever IHSAA State title with 2-1 OT win Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here 'Most of the large fireworks guys like us order their fireworks, like now, for next year. So we were in that cycle and so we had our products coming in as soon as last fall. We got most of our products in before the tariff thing happened, ' John Barber, owner of Zorts Fireworks, said. 'We had three containers that were subject to that increased tariff and we chose not to import those because of the increased cost of the tariff. So they are essentially sitting over there in China until we see how this resolves.' However, Barber said as much as 40 to 50 percent of their stock carries over to the next year. So he's hopeful that Siouxlanders won't see the price of fireworks affected by much next year. Barber added that the fact that Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year means a lot more folks will likely be buying fireworks. He recommends people avoid any last-minute purchases. 'We'll start selling out, we don't want to sell out but we will. So I would encourage our people who are buying fireworks to go in early and pick them up.' Additionally, remember to follow you local city and community ordinances when it comes to when and where you can shoot off your fireworks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
What you need to know before you go: June 9, 2025
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Here are the top headlines from this morning. A Memorial Bench was dedicated in South Sioux City to honor people who served during the Revolutionary War. Memorial bench celebrated at Siouxland Freedom Park Multiple people were injured following a crash north of Missouri Valley, Iowa. At least 6 injured after crash on I-29 Hy-Vee's pharmacy on Pierce Street in Sioux City is set to close. Hy-Vee on Pierce Street to close Watch even more stories in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.