The Department of Commerce has awarded tricycle manufacturer Midwest Contracting & Manufacturing (MCM) Inc. with $4,000 in Kansas Industrial Training funds to create eight new jobs at its WaKeeney facility.
The new employees will receive classroom and on-the-job training in areas such as forklift training, OSHA safety training, welding and CNC training from various in-house and outside instructors.
MCM will match Commerce’s investment with $10,111, bringing the total project value to $14,111.
“We’re glad to work with MCM on this training project,” said Secretary of Commerce David D. Kerr. “In these tough economic times, we’re especially appreciative of the company’s commitment to creating new jobs and growing here in Kansas.”
MCM manufactures several models of tricycles, wagons, wheel chair lifts, flag poles, portable horse and cattle sheds and specialty packing products for customers across the United States and Canada. Established in 1983, the company was recently purchased by stockholders from the Senne Company Inc. MCM product lines include the Dirt King trike, Dirt King Adult Dually trike, Spin-About and 9-Man Backwards trike. In addition to its own products, the company does private labeling for other tricycle distributors and sub-contract work for various manufacturers from Texas to the Dakotas. Products range from metal buildings for horses and cattle to vertical platform lifts that make buildings wheelchair accessible. MCM does work for A-1 Plank & Scaffold, one of the largest scaffolding companies in the country, and Enersys Inc., one of the nation’s largest battery companies.
“Hand crafted in Kansas by Kansas workers, the Dirt King trike has been awarded the distinction of “World’s Best Trike,’” said Mike McGivern, president of Senne Company. “With more than 30,000 in distribution, it is the preferred trike for day-care and pre-school use because it is virtually indestructible and incredibly safe.”
The Kansas Industrial Training program may be used to assist firms involved in both pre-employment and on-the-job training. Pre-employment training may be used to allow the company and prospective employees an opportunity to evaluate one another before making employment commitments. Prospective employees are given the knowledge and specific skills necessary for job entry. On-the-job training is conducted after hiring. Trainees may receive instruction on the company’s own production equipment on the plant floor or on similar machinery in a classroom setting. Visit KansasCommerce.com for details.
For more information, contact Joe Monaco with the Kansas Department of Commerce at (785) 296-3760 or jmonaco@kansascommerce.com.
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