Students from the West Stearns CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) class visited Rotochopper as part of their year-long course designed to utilize partnerships that provide an overview of business development and processes. WSCEO’s mission is to grow the future leaders of Albany, Melrose, and Sauk Centre area high schools by connecting them to the leaders of today.
The program, in its first year, has partnered with the local business community to create project-based experiences to help junior and senior students develop critical skills like problem solving, teamwork, self-motivation, responsibility, and communication. Over the course of the year, the students will visit a variety of area businesses, learn from guest speakers, participate in a class business, write business plans, and start and operate their own business.
Pat Burg, director of quality assurance and outside processing, led the group of 12 students and their instructor on a tour of Rotochopper’s manufacturing facility. The group is made up of students with diverse career interests and this was evident in the questions they asked about how Rotochopper operates. They were curious about marketing and promotions, operations and manufacturing processes, and why our equipment is painted red.
The students noted their top 3 takeaways from the tour; Rotochopper uses 5 million pounds of steel per year, a great team is critical when you sell & service products around the world you have to have great people to make it all work, nearly everything made by Rotochopper is red – Rotochopper’s co-founder Fred’s favorite color.
Rotochopper is proud to support the West Stearns CEO program giving students a first-hand look at how businesses operate and connecting them with leaders and real-world opportunities. If you know of a student group that would like a tour, contact our Director of Community Relations.