<body><div>The Vollrath Company was started in 1874 as the Sheboygan Cast Steel Co. by Jacob J. Vollrath<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1wr9Hn_0wFG3oHE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1wr9Hn_0wFG3oHE00" width="900" height="900" ><figcaption>Christina Wegner said part of The Vollrath Company’s longevity can be attributed to its continuous efforts of improvement. Submitted Photo</figcaption></figure>SHEBOYGAN – According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average lifespan of any newly formed company is 15-20 years, and only 25% of new businesses survive 15 years or more.Bearing that in mind, Christina Wegner, vice president of marketing, said seeing how Vollrath is celebrating 150 years in business makes them truly an anomaly in the modern age and shows what lessons can be learned from a company of its age.Wegner said its long-tenured success can be credited to evolving with the industry and keeping it a privately owned family business focused on people over profits and quality over quantity. In addition, she said success can be attributed to Vollrath finding its niche, continually improving where it can best serve its client’s needs and most recently, being able to leverage local, national and now worldwide markets.From humble beginnings to worldwide reachJacob J. Vollrath built the Sheboygan Cast Steel Co. in 1874 – producing railroad frogs, small cast parts for the furniture industry, cooking ranges and agricultural implements.Fast forward to 2024, and Vollrath is in its sixth and seventh generation of family ownership specializing in commercial food service industry products.And though it remains headquartered in Sheboygan (1236 N. 18th St.), Vollrath has locations across the U.S. as well as in Spain, China and Mexico.Wegner said going worldwide has really become top of mind in the last 10 years, doing eight acquisitions within that timeframe.“(The acquisitions were) a way for us to enter into the European and Asian market,” she said. “We saw that as a great opportunity to distribute our brand outside the U.S.” Wegner said the reason Vollrath has had the staying power is due to the quality of its product.Putting customers first, she said, also helps give them an edge.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=08eXMZ_0wFG3oHE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=08eXMZ_0wFG3oHE00" width="1800" height="823" ><figcaption>The Vollrath Company was started by Jacob J. Vollrath in 1874 as the Sheboygan Cast Steel Co. in 1874. Pictured is its original plant. Submitted Photo</figcaption></figure>Wegner said Vollrath produces about 80% of its food service products in the U.S. as well, which makes them extremely relevant in the commodity industry.“We’ve been able to really lead the food service industry from a metals perspective,” she said. “That’s where our specialty is, being able to stamp and draw stainless steel and aluminum.” Vollrath’s focus on the commercial food service industry (about 85% of business), Wegner said, helps the staying power as well.The company’s other 15%, Wegner said, is the consumer side – with several products marketed as Sam’s Club Member’s Mark brand.Culture-focused businessWegner said it’s not just the quality of the product that makes a difference in the industry, it’s also Vollrath’s culture.As previously mentioned, she said the company remains family-owned – with family members who are active in ensuring the right decisions are being made not only for the business but also for the employees.Wegner said Vollrath has five cultural values that it stands by:<ul><li>Treat all people with respect</li><li>Take ownership</li><li>Empower action</li><li>Commitment to those who count on us</li><li>Life beyond work</li></ul>“Ultimately, with these five values, people can come to work every day as their full selves and feel like they are treated with respect,” she said. “They can take ownership.”Wegner said one of the hallmarks of the company is ownership’s understanding of the value of life beyond work.“It’s really important for us to let employees value their time whether that’s leaving a little early to get to their kid’s soccer game and all the way up to offering every employee two additional PTO days to give back to their community as a volunteer,” she said. “It’s really important to our organization to be able to give back to our community” History is the greatest teacherWegner said lessons learned from the past 150 years – whether that’s the way Vollrath manufactures products or the way in which people expect products to come to market – has made all the difference. From a food service industry perspective, she said all of those things remain extremely relevant to Vollrath.With the company working with a wide breadth of areas with its products – including chain restaurants, hotels, colleges/universities and even local schools – Wegner said more times than not, anything commercial foodservice related most likely has a touch of Vollrath in, or on, it.A more recent learning experience, Wegner said, was the COVID-19 pandemic – as Vollrath did its best to navigate challenges, such as labor shortages, supply chain issues and technology hurdles. At one point, Wegner said Vollrath had to go “old school” and print orders from one printer room in the organization and disperse orders out to local factors because they were down.Part of Vollrath’s resilience during the pandemic, Wegner said, was remaining true to its roots and employees relying on each other.“To have people here that have worked through all of that and knew how to work the machines when they aren’t tied to all the systems was amazing,” she said. “Even more so, to see that we didn’t really miss a beat, and we were able to keep up with production.”Looking forwardWegner said she knows it’s a really exciting time in the organization, especially in light of the new CEO Erik Lampe who just started about a year and a half ago, and watching a generation of those who have been with the company for 25-45 years starting to retire, as a new generation comes into the industry.“We have a lot of new people both from inside the food service industry and outside coming to the company with a new perspective and fresh outlook with new ways to do things, and I think that’s really exciting,” she said.Wegner said looking at the even younger generations – the middle and high schoolers – she sees a challenge to make manufacturing cool again. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1ARpY4_0wFG3oHE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1ARpY4_0wFG3oHE00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>To help celebrate its 150th year in business, The Vollrath Company had a mural painted that represents various aspects of its history. Submitted Photo</figcaption></figure>“I think it has gotten a stigma that hasn’t always been positive,” she said. “What we’re really doing is working with our local communities on different apprenticeship and co-op programs that allow kids to see that working the shop floor is not what they thought it was.”Modern manufacturing, Wegner said, includes working not just with your hands but with advancing technology, including robots.As one generation begins to retire, Wegner said Vollrath’s next biggest challenge is taking what’s in someone’s brain that’s been doing the task(s) for 25 years and converting it to the new generation and age we live in – which in some cases, means utilizing artificial intelligence (AI).“AI tools are really helpful,” she said. “We’re starting to utilize them to capture what people are doing, and then it helps us hand off that knowledge to other people.”Wegner said she also knows the company has to crawl before it can run – noting that Vollrath is not an organization that jumps into the deep end without testing first.In the same breath, she said though the narrative is out there, she doesn’t see advancing technology as a long-term replacement.“I think it’s a ‘both, and’ situation,’” she said. “A lot of the work we do is like art, it needs a human eye to make sure things are being done properly, and AI can be very supportive in making us more efficient in being able to produce more products (of all kinds).”With many schools having STEAM or STEM programs in place, Wegner said Vollrath is working to play a larger part in those, especially in Sheboygan and Kewaunee counties.She said the company is also working with technical schools to help some of its current employees expand their knowledge and skills.“It’s been really good for us to partner with different schools, both at the high school and tech school level,” she said.Wegner said there’s a lot of innovation taking place in the food service industry, both from a labor savings perspective and energy savings perspective.Beyond that, Wegner said the organization continues to look for additional acquisitions and additional ways it can grow globally.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Celebrating 150 years in business, looking forward to another 150

SHEBOYGAN – According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average lifespan of any newly formed company is 15-20 years, and only 25% of new businesses survive 15 years or more. Bearing that in mind, Christina Wegner, vice president of marketing, said seeing how Vollrath is celebrating 150...