Custom Truck Success Story

CUSTOM TRUCK ONE SOURCE, METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND MISSOURI ONE START PARTNER TO BUILD SKILLED WORKFORCE IN KANSAS CITY

Custom Truck One Source’s transformation from a family-run truck customization outfit into a publicly traded heavy equipment manufacturing leader has been driven by vision, tenacity, and a strong commitment to workforce development. This commitment is now exemplified by a $150,000 expansion of the company’s welding training lab, created through a collaboration with Metropolitan Community College (MCC) and Missouri One Start.

As a publicly traded company – one of only a handful within Kansas City’s limits – Custom Truck fabricates, rents, and sells bucket trucks, cranes, and other heavy machinery vehicles for utility companies and industries nationwide. With a growing fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles modified for a variety of specialized jobs, the company faces a critical need for skilled welders. However, experienced welders are increasingly scarce, both in Missouri and across the country. The American Welding Society projects a national shortfall of 360,000 welders by 2027, creating challenges for companies like Custom Truck that depend on this essential skill set.

Efforts by Missouri One Start, the State’s workforce recruitment and training division, aim to bridge that gap for Custom Truck and other eligible companies statewide. Missouri One Start provided the funding to procure the welding lab equipment through MCC, which partnered with Custom Truck to expand the existing learning lab on the top floor of one of the company’s production facilities. The engineering team at Custom Truck directed the lab’s expansion, which now features four dedicated booths designed to train up to eight individuals at a time. The lab provides hands-on opportunities for workers to achieve three levels of internal certification, each reflecting a different degree of welding proficiency. The introductory level is a week-long class covering basic skills, while advanced courses offer more challenging, specialized training.

“This new welding lab enables Custom Truck to enhance training for our expanding workforce, reinforcing our commitment to investing in our people and their growth,” said Christopher Ross, the company’s operations manager and a member of its founding family. “With the support of Missouri One Start and the MCC program, our company is expanding its skilled workforce while offering career-building, on-the-job training opportunities.”

For Custom Truck, this initiative also reflects its responsibility as a publicly traded company to support long-term growth and local economic development. By addressing labor shortages through partnerships and innovative training programs, Custom Truck demonstrates its dedication to building a sustainable and skilled workforce, while reinforcing its leadership in the heavy equipment manufacturing industry.

MCC works with several companies is the Kansas City, Missouri area to provide training solutions and is supportive of the work that Custom Truck is doing in the community. Both entities hope to continue to grow their relationship with future expanded programs.

The facility containing the lab is one of many on Custom Truck’s 125-plus-acre headquarters, which sits adjacent to Interstate 435 and is highlighted by a fleet of signature white utility vehicles and cranes. Originally the site of the Armco steel plant, the property served as a significant economic driver in Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood for much of the 20th century, employing 4,500 workers at its peak. After the steel plant’s closure in 2001, Fred Ross, founder of Custom Truck, chose the site for the company’s headquarters in 2005. Since then, the company has repurposed the former industrial complex into a state-of-the-art campus employing over 1,000 people.

Jennifer Nelson, a Manufacturing Engineer at Custom Truck, recently completed welding training as part of her effort to broaden her skill set. The self-described hands-on learner sees the welding courses as an invaluable opportunity to develop a specialized skill that enhances her professional growth. “I’ve found that welding is not only rewarding but also challenging,” Nelson said. “It’s a great fit for my personal and professional aspirations of continuous learning.”

The partnership between MCC, Missouri One Start, and Custom Truck highlights the transformative power of collaboration in workforce training. By leveraging grant funding, industry expertise, and educational resources, such collaborations create pathways for employee success while strengthening the economic foundation of the community.