Lodge Manufacturing

Henry Lodge, president of Lodge Manufacturing, Pittsburg, Tenn., defers to his vice president of human services, Dave Shouse, on many things when it comes to continuing education. But there’s one thing he is sure the two of them agree on.

“We are committed to training. We wouldn’t be where we are without it,” Lodge said. “I know he is with me on the fact that it has been critical to our success.”

What Lodge knows better than anyone about his company is that it isn’t large enough to do the training he wants to make available to his employees in house. The company conducts its own on-the-job training and safety courses, but that’s the extent of it.

Besides, when it comes to technical instruction, the company finds it beneficial to bring in the knowledge of outside experts

“If you send people out, they may bring something back—a change in the industry or something,” Lodge said. “Someone attending a sand course may get something this year that he or she wouldn’t have gotten five years ago.”

Lodge Manufacturing leans heavily on trade associations, like the American Management Association and the Cast Metals Institute (CMI), for delivering the additional instruction that allows its employees to advance through the ranks of the company.

Other outside sources of ongoing education can be metalcasting industry suppliers, technical schools and industry trade shows.
The company selects its courses on a case-by-case basis. Only employees involved in safety and the environment are required to take certain classes to keep up with changes in the industry and the way it is regulated. For other jobs, like those working in the sand lab or quality assurance, classes are encouraged in order to stay up with advancement in industry technology.

“One of the biggest challenges is just making sure you have the right person in the right course or seminar,” Lodge said. “You often send someone to a course that sounds good on paper but doesn’t really fill the need.”

The company also budgets for continuing education on a case-by-case basis. Lodge declined to divulge how much his company spends on continuing education, but he said that rather than laying out a set amount year-over-year, the company reevaluates need annually and may spend twice as much in one year as it did the year before.

“Lodge Manufacturing sees continuing education as an investment,” said Mark Nagel, CMI director. “And they believe they’re going to see some return on the investment.”