13-05-2025
Gov. Evers tours Lippert Components in EC, touts training grants
EAU CLAIRE — Gov. Tony Evers toured Lippert Components Inc. on Monday, hearing about how the company is using training grants to attract and retain new employees.
Lippert Components employs 600 people locally, including 450 workers in manufacturing, said Brian Schudiske, Lippert Components senior vice president. The company has been growing 15% annually, and one of the buildings Schudiske showed off is just two years old. Evers saw components that go on vehicles such as Hondas and Toyotas, as well as a variety of other customers.
Matt Jerlecki, Lippert Components director of learning, explained to Evers that they are working with Chippewa Valley Technical College to train new workers specifically on jobs available at their location on the east side of Altoona.
Jerlecki said they have trained 122 people since launching their program in March 2024. Some are learning welding skills, while others are learning fabrication skills, such as using lasers.
'It's a lot,' he told Evers. 'It's expanded our pool of potential welders.'
Jerlecki said it has been an important partnership with CVTC as they utilize a $400,000 Fast Forward Worker Training Grant. The company received the grant in 2024 from the Department of Workforce Development 'to provide real skills and certifications aligned with high-demand manufacturing roles in the Chippewa Valley region,' a press release states.
'They've been willing to innovate with us,' Jerlecki said of CVTC. 'It's been able to allow us to grow our team. And we can expand now to high-school students. Our success rate is 90-some percent.'
Jerlecki added of the outreach to high-schoolers: 'When they are working for us, they are getting paid. The real plan is three years from now, they'll become our engineers.'
The company routinely has about 95% of all jobs filled. Jerlecki said a lot of that is because they keep expanding.
'We're going to continue to expand which is why we built this building,' Jerlecki said. 'We want to do more business in Wisconsin.'
Evers said he was impressed with the tour.
'What is important to me is how well the CVTC and Lippert are working well together,' Evers said. 'They are making sure they are trained at the highest level possible. It's good for Wisconsin. They are a great company; they hire a lot of people. It's nice to see the pieces working together.'
Over the past six years, Gov. Evers and his administration have 'made it a top priority to address the state's generational workforce challenges and build a workforce prepared to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy by making smart, strategic investments in key sectors,' a press release from his office reads.
Jerlecki said he was thrilled to have the governor come and see the facilities.
'It's great for us to be able to share the success of our team members,' Jerlecki said.
