Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 12, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 27 M A N U F A C T U R I N G A W A R D S Workforce Development Award S w i s s t u r n / U S A , I n c . Location: Oxford Industry subsector: Machined products Employees: 58 Founded: 1987 Top executive: President Ken Mandile Primary product: Precision products for industries including medical, industries & defense Early starter: Ken Mandile joined the company full-time in 1981 after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and became Swissturn president in 1997. Employee-owned Swissturn is turning into a 100% ESOP company, still prioritizing getting its workers the best training K en Mandile started work- ing at the machine shop Swissturn/USA when he was just 10, learning from his father, who owned and ran the company at the time. Decades later, owning and running the Oxford company himself, Mandile, now 61, saw few likely options for the BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor company continuing on past his time leading it. So five years ago, he sold it – to Swissturn's own employees. e manufacturer became what's known as an ESOP – an employee stock ownership plan giving Swissturn's employees a 49% stake in the company. In the coming years, Mandile plans to make it 100%. "We wanted to develop an ownership culture. is is my legacy. I've been doing this since I was 10 years old. I wanted to make sure it continued on," Mandile said, recalling going to his employees with the idea. "I said, 'I'd like you to meet the new owners. Look to the le and right of you.'" Mandile is a strong advocate for ESOPs, learning about how they tend to lead to higher employee retention rates, high profits and lower turnover. ey can also provide a significant retire- ment asset for workers and help reduce income inequality, he said. With manufacturers oen struggling to attract young workers and with an older workforce of 68 people, Swissturn has placed a priority on workforce development. at begins with safety and regulatory training when an employee begins work- ing there and continues with annual or biennial training with existing employ- ees to keep them refreshed. e company has worked with Au- burn-based Massachusetts Manufactur- ing Extension Partnership, or MassMEP, which has helped Swissturn improve its organizational chart, job descriptions and other human resources aspects. In other cases, it has worked with other ma- chine shops on collaborative projects to use job training grants, or hired through the Worcester-based Manufacturing Ad- vancement Center Workforce Innovation Collaborative, known as MACWIC. Mandile has heard the question: What if you spend so much time and effort training employees only for them to leave? He counters: What if you don't train your employees and they don't leave? "We've always placed workforce devel- opment as a high priority for us," he said. Swissturn makes screws and other small machine parts, oen stainless steel or brass, for medical, laser and electronic connector firms. But Swissturn workers are less focused on who they're making the products for than simply building them – sometimes by the millions – by the exact specifications. "A lot of times we don't know what the product is," Mandile said. Swissturn/USA machinists Nick Williams (left) and Marcos Naranjo-Cassanov work in the company's Oxford facility. (From left) Nick Malatesta, production support manager; Valorie Ray, vice pres- ident; Dean Russell, vice president; and Eric Plante, facilities and environmental health services manager W PHOTOS | COURTESY OF SWISSTURN/USA, INC. Swissturn/USA employees and owners (from left) Dean Russell, vice president of operations; Nick Malatesta, production support manager; Eric Plante, facilities manager; and Kathy Needler, team lead.

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