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CONSTRUCTION TRAILER SPECIALISTS – THREE RIVERS COLLEGE Construction Trailer Specialists in Sikeston has manufactured high-quality products for over 25 years, building a strong reputation as a nationwide leader in the trailer industry. To meet increasing operational demands, the company set a goal to create a more agile, flexible team. To do this, the company invested in its employees by offering several types of training in partnership with Three Rivers College, supported by the Missouri One Start Customized Training Program. The company offered training across departments, demonstrating its commitment to continuous improvement. Five new welders and two new painters acquired specialized skills to uphold production standards. Additionally, the company provided OSHA-compliant safety courses and cross-training in areas like sales, shipping, and fabrication. Beyond technical and production skills, QuickBooks sales training was included for two employees aiming to expand their administrative abilities. Both tangible and intangible results were achieved by Construction Trailer Specialists, including a 17% rise in production efficiency, a 50% reduction in training time for new hires, and a 12% decrease in downtime across departments. Along with the increase in productivity, employees’ skills have improved, boosting their morale and fostering an internal sense of pride in their work. Employees have also taken on new responsibilities, enhancing their engagement and sense of ownership within the company. Looking forward, the company plans to invest further in the professional development of its workforce. “None of this would have been possible without the support of Three Rivers College and the Missouri One Start program,” said Nicole Harris, Office Manager at Construction Trailer Specialists. “Their resources and training funds allowed us to develop our employees’ skills from within, ensuring that our team could grow alongside our operations. We are incredibly proud of the progress our employees have made and we are excited for the future that we are building together.” About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « WEG Transformers Success StoryWorkforce Imbalance »

CHESTERFIELD’S CAMBRIDGE AIR SOLUTIONS UTILIZES MISSOURI ONE START’S TRAINING ASSISTANCE SERVICES   Cambridge Air Solutions in Chesterfield has been in business for over 60 years. The company is known for enriching the lives of its people, customers, vendors, and suppliers through innovative HVAC solutions. In 2024, Cambridge Air Solutions was experiencing financial constraints due to the ripple effects of COVID-19. As a result, it was a challenge for the company to keep effectively investing in its workforce. “Like many manufacturers, 2024 was a difficult year for our business,” said Rebecca Jenkins, Project Manager of Technical Training at Cambridge Air Solutions. “One of our core behaviors is to invest resources in personal and professional growth, and we weren’t sure how we were going to continue that at the scale our business and employees needed.” After conducting extensive research for solutions, the company discovered Missouri One Start’s training assistance offered through St. Louis Community College (STLCC). This partnership allowed them to provide training for 75 total employees. At one site, this training allowed everyone on the manufacturing leadership team to upgrade from manual production scheduling to an automated Manufacturing Execution System (MES), slated to go live in June. Additionally, the company was able to better support leaders and team members in pilot areas of the organization and send several team members to classes at STLCC, including Project Management Fundamentals, Microsoft Tools, and Industrial Maintenance Training. Cambridge Air Solutions was financially assisted through Missouri One Start’s Customized Training program. “Missouri One Start and St. Louis Community College have both been instrumental in allowing us to navigate this difficult time in manufacturing,” said Jenkins. “As a result of their funding and training, our Quality Manufacturing System (QMS) pilot areas have better standards that are more in line with our customer expectations, allowing us to create better training, problem solving, and continuous improvement strategies. We’ll be expanding this system across the entire organization over the next two years.”   About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « Multi-Craft Contractors Success StoryWEG Transformers Success Story »

MULTI-CRAFT CONTRACTORS, INC. (MCC) PROVIDES INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SOLUTIONS FOR OVER 50 YEARS   Multi-Craft Contractors, Inc. (MCC) has been providing industrial and commercial services and solutions to consumers for over 50 years. The company’s Springfield location was presented with a challenge in succession training. Its floor personnel needed upskilling assistance when transitioning to positions of leadership and administration. On top of this, the company also required technical training for its shop hands to be able to improve their craft. To address both of these needs, MCC partnered with Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield. Ozarks Tech facilitated training in early 2025, including courses in manufacturing leadership and project management. A total of nine employees attended training in frontline management and project management. The training was a success, with three employees moving on to take a certification exam to be a Project Management Professional (PMP). “The feedback we received from our employees was very positive,” said Donny “Chops” Aten, the Learning and Development Coordinator at the Springfield location. “They were able to use their new skills and abilities to improve team relationships and morale and improve efficiencies on projects, which will lead to higher profit margins for our company.” MCC was financially assisted through Missouri One Start’s Customized Training program, which the company has participated in for three years. “The Customized Training program has always been a huge benefit for our company in terms of training value added and employee retention,” said Aten. “We have found that our employees feel more valued when offered training that helps them become more efficient in their craft and gives them a path forward in their career, and the funds from this program help us provide that.” About MCC: Multi-Craft Contractors (MCC) is a full-service Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing contractor with many more capabilities, including: Fabrication, Millwright, Crane, Rigging, Control Panels, and Robotics. These additional capabilities help reduce costs and keep your project on schedule. Additionally, MCC gives you the time savings advantage of having one point of contact for multiple services, saving you hours of project management time. About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « DeLong’s Success StoryCambridge Air Solutions Success Story »

DELONG’S EASES TRANSITION WITH CUSTOMIZED LEADERSHIP TRAINING   DeLong’s, a diversified structural steel fabricator based in Jefferson City is known for producing plate girders for bridges, fabricated structural steel, joists for buildings, and various other products. With a history spanning 70 years, DeLong’s is transitioning to its fourth generation of family ownership. To support this transition, DeLong’s identified a need for customized training focused on enhancing leadership skills specifically for their Team Leads and Supervisors. The company decided to partner with The LearningForce at State Fair Community College (SFCC) to offer training programs that would develop leadership abilities throughout their workforce. DeLong’s also partnered with Missouri One Start to assist with the cost of the training. The participants covered a vast range of experience levels, with some being new to leadership roles and others possessing over 20 years of supervisory experience. Since January 2024, a dedicated SFCC trainer has been delivering customized training to DeLong’s employees, with topics including time management, management styles, flexibility versus firmness, trust-building, conflict resolution, motivating others, and discipline. In total, The LearningForce has provided leadership and supervisory training to 37 DeLong’s employees. Of these trainees, 95% report they gained additional knowledge and skills, and 100% found the material useful and the overall quality of the training exceptional. They also note that the customized training positively impacted their patience, time management, communication skills, control over personal and professional life, and ability to positively influence coworkers. However, these weren’t the only impacts of the training. “The biggest impact I have seen is just an increased comfort level discussing situations that occur in the workplace that are influenced by leadership decisions,” says Ted Wood, DeLong’s Workforce Development Manager. “I believe the training has helped them build a foundation to work off of, given them some confidence, and put them in a place where they are more comfortable talking about different types of leadership skills. This has made them better coaches, empowered them to be more positive, and helped them do their evaluations, counseling, and provide recognition.”   About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « Custom Truck Success StoryMulti-Craft Contractors 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.   About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « Kawasaki Success StoryDeLong’s Success Story »

KAWASAKI MOTORS SOLVES ENGINEERING CHALLENGE WITH SPECIALIZED TRAINING   Over the past nine years, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing (KMM) in Maryville has been experiencing increasing demand for its engines. The company has expanded by adding new semi-automated production lines, die-casting machinery, and assembly lines. These new lines allow the company to maintain high quality standards while improving efficiency. However, a major challenge occurred when an older machining line’s robotic vision system camera was damaged. This camera was vital to the automation of the production line. Without it, the system could no longer function as intended. KMM needed to replace the camera and have someone program the new system. Unfortunately the engineer who originally set up the system had since left the company and no one on staff had the experience or expertise to work on the replacement. Downtime is expensive so KMM had to act fast. They needed to fix the damaged camera and train their engineers to program the new system. To solve this pressing issue, the company partnered with Northwest Technical School (NTS) in Maryville. Aided by training funds from Missouri One Start, KMM received the necessary RAIO and application-specific training for its engineering team. Through NTS, KMM partnered with a specialized company that provided on-site training for the engineers, ensuring they gained the skills to program, maintain, and troubleshoot the new robotic vision system. The training was a huge success, allowing multiple engineers across the team to be upskilled simultaneously to deal with a time-sensitive issue. “Thanks to the support from NTS and the Missouri One Start grant, we were able to solve a critical problem efficiently and cost-effectively,” says [KMM representative’s name here]. “The outcome was not just the successful installation and programming of the new camera, but the empowerment of our engineering team to handle similar challenges with confidence moving forward. The grant funding was pivotal to ensure we could keep production running smoothly during this challenge and continue to innovate in our operations.” About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « Aviation Fabricators Success StoryCustom Truck Success Story »

CONAGRA EXPANDS MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES’ SKILLSETS WITH CUSTOMIZED TRAINING PROGRAM   ConAgra, known for their grocery products (especially frozen foods), has been in business for over 50 years and is one of the largest companies in the Frozen Foods Division in the United States. The company’s Marshall required customized training for their maintenance technicians, who needed to develop the necessary skills to operate CNC mill machines and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding applications. ConAgra partnered with The LearningForce at State Fair Community College (SFCC) to facilitate this specialized training. Funding from Missouri One Start was used to offset the costs. training covered the following: Shop safety Machine tool math Drill press Turning techniques Milling techniques Better awareness of safe/correct setup procedures when welding Stainless steel fillet and groove GTAW welds in flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead positions Improved heat control and education   Since April 2024, workers with little experience using CNC mill machines or performing TIG welding have received customized training from two SFCC trainers. Both trainers developed a curriculum specifically for ConAgra’s processes, combining classroom instruction with hands-on application to effectively educate and train the employees. The LearningForce has provided custom machining and welding training to 16 ConAgra maintenance employees. The customized approach was a huge success, as 100% of employees found it informative and helpful in learning more about their machines and processes. One trainee highlighted that they learned a lot because their trainer was patient and explained processes thoroughly to help each individual. Justin Moore, Maintenance Team Leader at ConAgra, has the following to say regarding his employees’ thoughts on the trainings: “They appreciated me letting them attend these trainings. They stated that they learned so much from them and felt comfortable using our new milling machine now to make parts for the lines as we need them. We are looking forward to scheduling more classes in the fall to get more Maintenance Technicians trained up so we can build more depth in our department.”   About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « SRC Success StoryAviation Fabricators Success Story »

TRAINING AT SRC CREATES EFFICIENCIES AND RETAINS EMPLOYEES Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. in Springfield was established in 1983. It’s known for creating a highly engaged employee-owner workforce with its open-book management. The secret sauce of knowledge incentivizes employee-owners to become dedicated to high performance. Because of this, training plays a big role at SRC. When the company’s Heavy Duty East location needed to upskill workers on wiring electrical panels, they turned to Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) to develop a training program. OTC is a partner of Missouri One Start, which provides training funds to eligible companies. Associates tasked with ensuring electrical panel wiring was properly connected and tested lacked the proper skills and were involving engineers to help complete their tasks. To get new employee-owners up to speed, SRC contracted Bob Sherman from OTC to conduct classes on basic, intermediate, and advanced industrial electrical generators. The training courses took place over four weeks and upskilled production testers, engineering technicians, quality technicians, and whole goods assemblers. So far, feedback has been outstanding. “The basic electrical training was so excellent that all the associates wanted a chance to do the intermediate/advanced training,” said Maggie Anderson, HR at SRC. “The biggest takeaway from these trainings has been the skill of troubleshooting. When associates can work through a problem and find the issue without calling one of the engineers, it’s game-changing. It creates efficiency on the floor and allows the engineers to focus on their projects.” SRC’s strong relationship with OTC allows it to leverage specialized training when employee-owners need to increase their skills, knowledge, or abilities. “We can use their expertise and guidance to get our employee-owners the tools and knowledge to succeed in their careers,” said Anderson. “Retention has been a struggle, but with the support of specialized training, trends are moving in the right direction. We are seeing more and more associates stay.”   About Missouri One Start: Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive. « Everlast Success StoryConagra Success Story »