Fall Conference Recap: From Caskets to Captain America Shields

​Recapping a WCMA Fall Conference & Plant Tours Event can be a daunting task at the onset. Highlighting plant tours, recalling conversations, and catching the small details that make these events interesting and unique could be overwhelming except for one thing. The people. When it comes right down to it, the wood industry is chalk full of interesting, hard-working, down-to-earth people who value respectful interaction and learning opportunities. So, when the dust is settled and the bags are unpacked, it's actually easy to look back and recall more highlights than we can list in just one blog post. But, we're going to try!

The event kicked off on Monday evening with a Welcome Reception at the Waterloo Convention Center. It's always good to catch up with Members and Tech Partners and welcome the Young Professionals and guests. 

Tour Day 1 started off with an early morning bus ride through some of Iowa's most scenic farm country as we made our way to the Dubuque area for tours at Trappist Caskets, John Deere Dubuque Works, Adams Architectural Millwork Co., and Kendrick Forest Products. We also enjoyed a pleasant mid-day lunch break at Convivium Urban Farmstead.

Take-aways from Day 1 included the observance of skilled craftsmanship and reverence in the production of caskets, the management processes of mass production, the importance of customer satisfaction in custom wood products, and implementing business strategies to expand and market wood products from logs to a diverse and  finished  product line. One more thing worth noting: The bonus ball cap we each received as a parting gift from our John Deere tour guides!

Tour Day 2 kept us local to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa area with plant tours at Kryton Engineered Metals, O'Neal Manufacturing, and Bertch Cabinets. Take-aways from these tours included plant layout options, the use of "nesting" and work stations, the importance of outsourcing, exposure to a campus-style production facility, applying robotics, and workforce cross-training.

Another round of thanks go out to all the Plant Tour Hosts as well as Kendrick Forest Products for sponsoring the transportation and providing road trip goodie bags! The Edgewood Locker smoked sausages were a huge hit as were the custom ornaments.

It's not every day one gets to see such a wide variety of products being manufactured. And even though not all tours centered around wood product, they did focus on what we all have in common. Manufacturing. Whether you're producing caskets, cabinets, railroad ties, or Captain America shields for a movie studio, in the end,  it's all about manufacturing.

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We welcome feedback from Fall Conference attendees. Or, if you have suggestions for future plant tour locations, please contact WCMA staff at [email protected]