Feintool : wins 2014 Tell Award in the USA

03.10.2014

In recognition of its efforts, on 17 September 2014 Feintool received the Tell Award from the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States for achievements in successfully implementing a sustainable workforce development program. The Tell Award is given annually to exceptional individuals, groups or entities that contribute to the positive image of Switzerland in the United States.

The 2014 Tell Award theme was Vocational Education and Training, a highly topical subject in the United States. Economists and labor watchers have long debated the "skills gap" in the American workforce. Recently, it has become a focus of discussion, especially with the global economy creating more competition paired with a lack of manufacturing jobs available in the US. Sustainable jobs that utilize a wide range of education and skills have been difficult to find. Feintool has been doing something about that and has been recognized for its efforts to train the next generation. In fact Feintool, with its US headquarters in Cincinnati, has long drawn on its history of hands-on apprenticeship using the Swiss system since 1987.

Feintool's Christoph Trachsler, CEO US Operations, Gabriel Venzin, vice president US Operations, and apprentice Derek Boyd attended the awards ceremony in Washington, DC. As a part of the event, the Swiss Embassy asked Mike Rowe, host of the popular TV show "Dirty Jobs," to be its spokesperson about closing the skills gaps. He appeared on a short video in which he comments, "There are three or four million good technical skills jobs open and because of stigmas and stereotypes our young people aren't being encouraged to learn the necessary skills and apply for them. We need to understand how important it is to make things, to grow things and to build things. Hopefully, the U.S. will be able to learn about the German and Swiss Vocational Educational Training Program and apply it over here."

And that's precisely Feintool's undertaking -- harnessing the power of vocational training and creating an employee base of well educated and trained individuals -- not to mention building confidence and leadership along the way. Apprentice Derek Boyd, a graduate of Live Oaks Technical School in the Cincinnati area, said the Feintool apprenticeship program increased his confidence. He first learned of Feintool on a school field trip. When he saw the tools there, he was surprised that the process was so intricate, commenting "I was pretty amazed on how many components are in a (single) tool."  Boyd notes he was allowed to choose an area of specialty at Feintool. "Your training steps are dependent on what you want to do." Boyd first assisted toolmakers, then chose to specialize in wire Electronic Discharge Machining (EDM). Also referred to as spark machining, EDM is a cutting process using electrical discharges to erode material away. It is used for hard metals like tool steel. As part of Boyd's apprenticeship, Feintool invested in his higher education by paying for his college courses in pre-engineering, which was a motivator as is the company's open atmosphere that inspires inquiry and discovery. "If you ask ten engineers how to do something, you'll get ten answers," Boyd notes. "Here at Feintool, they teach you to listen to the ten answers and make up your own mind."

Feintool's US locations in Ohio and Tennessee offer high school seniors the opportunity to job shadow as a part of their school day. When co-ops graduate high school, they are given the opportunity to enter the four-year, state certified apprenticeship program. While working full-time at Feintool, apprentices are required to complete a certain number of evening college courses. Feintool covers their expenses for the courses, while also paying them for their fulltime work. Once the apprenticeship is completed, students receive state certification in their field of expertise. This enables individuals to build up experience and gain confidence. Feintool employs two-thirds of the alumni within the company. The other third provides great benefit to regional toolmakers and machining industries; the benefits are apparent in the longevity of employee retention as well as in corporate culture.

Pictures of the Tell Award ceremony

About the Tell Award
The Tell Awards, named for Swiss folk hero William Tell, honor US companies from a wide range of industries and of various size and stage of business development that have conquered the European/EMEA market from their operations based in Switzerland, the global leader for innovation and competitiveness. During the awards program, leaders of the honoree companies discuss projects that are working and the strategies they employ to make them a success. Past honorees include Solar Impulse pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss, and Swiss NBA basketball player Thabo Sefolosha.

Other Swiss companies with a US presence that received a 2014 award at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC, were Bühler North America, Plymouth, MN and Max Daetwyler Corporation, Huntsville, NC. Bühler is a specialist and technology partner for plant, equipment, and services for processing basic foods and for manufacturing advanced materials. Daetwyler offers printing pressroom products and is a machining and fabrication facility for industrial parts, assemblies and custom machines.