Tour gives Northland students inside look at manufacturing - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota

Nov 01, 2024

DULUTH — It wasn’t a typical day in the classroom for Barnum High School students Friday, Oct. 25, as they arrived by bus at Loll Designs.

Each equipped with safety glasses, 24 sophomores toured the outdoor furniture manufacturer.

The field trip was part of the annual Statewide Tour of Manufacturing on Oct. 23-25 in recognition of Manufacturing Month. Nearly 650 area students visited more than 30 businesses to learn about career opportunities and manufacturing processes from professionals throughout the industry.

“This year, we really ramped up the program in a big way,” said Mickey Pearson, business recruiter for the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion, or APEX. “We overdoubled it in manufacturing participants, as well as school participants.”

The tours are a collaboration among Lake Superior College, Minnesota North College, Lake Superior and True North Stars Perkins Consortium, and several state and regional economic development organizations.

Loll’s manufacturing group leader, Gabe Dodson, and Max Darnigan, first-shift computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing process lead, guided the tour.

“They talked about soft skills, which are applicable in any kind of job situation,” Barnum High School visual arts instructor Robert Domecq said. “Having a good attitude and showing up on time — those are the kinds of life skills that I really reinforce in my classroom. They can carry that into a place like this and start at an entry-level job and be successful.”

Students were also introduced to some career pathways that might be open to young people entering the workforce and some benefits to consider when they reach adulthood.

In addition to 54 manufacturing positions, Loll Designs offers professional roles in its supply chain, marketing, finance, engineering, design, sales, customer support and customer service departments.

“Rejuvenating the workforce is critical to maintaining a strong business environment in Twin Ports,” Dodson said. “This is our fourth tour, and some of these young adults are so engaged in what's going on. You can tell they're really thinking about their futures and what they might want to do when they enter the workforce.”

In 2021, manufacturing jobs accounted for 11.3% of statewide employment and had the second-largest total payroll among private sector industries, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The average annual wage for workers in manufacturing is $74,630 — 10% higher than across all industries in Minnesota.

Through 2030, more than 75,000 manufacturing production job openings are anticipated in the state, DEED reported.

According to Pearson, manufacturers across the region struggle with workforce shortages.

“This is where APEX is hoping to bridge that gap,” Pearson said. “These students can see, I can get a job right out of high school that pays awesome wages, and I can stay in the communities that I grew up in."

According to Dodson, Loll can only hire people who are 18 or older and have a GED or high school diploma. The company is working to potentially develop a summer work program where it can lower its age requirement to 16.

Like many manufacturing companies, Loll offers tuition reimbursement to employees who attend college. There is also a cost-training program where team members may learn about another department in the company or how to take on more advanced tasks and responsibilities to learn more about their home department.

“That’s not just unique to this company. A lot of places are like that,” Dodson said. “If you can show up to work and really love being there and love what you do, a lot of them will make sure that door is open for you.”

Loll’s outdoor furniture is made in the U.S., partly using recycled high-density polyethylene sourced primarily from single-use milk jug containers. The company produces about $30 million in annual revenue, Dodson said.

“We only have around 100 employees," he said, "but that results in 100 families or 100 households getting their support via this business being here. That also impacts the city, state and county revenue dollars, as well as all of the supporting industries that go into making the businesses function.

"Suppliers, vendors, cleaners and pest control — all these things that you wouldn't think of being associated with the business," he said.

Barnum sophomore Brandt Berg said he “found it very fascinating how efficient they are in the production — the amount of chairs, tables and couches they make."

"I do want to work in a manufacturing environment like this," he said. "I haven't really thought about my future that much. It's really great to get out and experience these kinds of things so you're exposed to new opportunities and lines of work that you might not have thought you'd enjoy.”

Barnum sophomore Tessa Bednarek said the tour was eye-opening for her as she continues to explore post-secondary options in teaching, business or marketing.

“I didn't realize how much marketing went behind making a product and making it appeal to people,” Bednarek said.

Isabella LaFave, a sophomore, has long considered pursuing a career as a veterinarian technician after high school, but still found value in the experience.

“It’s important, so we can experience on-hand tours like this because we can just look at it online or stuff, but if you go there and see it, you might have a better idea of what you could be doing,” LaFave said.

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