It is common for companies to sponsor their corporate picnics on the rich, lush grassy grounds of a metropolitan park located several miles outside the city boundaries. Not so with Milton Manufacturing. True to its motto: “Detroit Proud,” Milton Manufacturing sponsored its company employee picnic at its Galactic Headquarters in Detroit. In fact, you might say that its company picnic was a “concrete” success.
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that Milton is located in an urban setting that was hard-hit by the economy. Directly across the street from Milton, there was a neighborhood of 100+ homes that no longer exist as a result of the downfall in the economy a few years ago. As the homes became abandoned, decayed, Milton purchased the lots, some vacant others with houses, and leveled the homes to open up the land and converted the area into community flower and food gardens that are planted, harvested and shared with local area residents.
Milton takes its role as a corporate neighbor in the community very seriously. Remember the song from the 1970s entitled “Takin’ It to the Streets” by the rock band The Doobie Brothers with Michael McDonald as lead vocalist? Milton hosted its picnic in the “concrete” street right outside of its plant facilities and headquarters. By doing so, the local residents and their children were also invited to enjoy the picnic.
Clearly, the picnic was very kid-friendly — with popcorn, cotton candy, dunk tank, a hay ride, several blow up giant game structures (including a giant dry slide and a giant wet slide) and family tours of the plant facilities. Children of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers, were in constant motion going from one game to the next.
It was a great day for family fun — and a wonderful day for employees to show their families where mom or dad works during the week.
It’s interesting how some words have more than one meaning. For example, in the field of architecture, a turret is a small tower usually positioned at the top of a medieval castle. In the manufacturing industry, however, a turret punch press is a machine that punches through metal with enough force to produce pre-programmed shapes.
Today, in modern times, the skilled operator (engineer or toolmaker) programs the computer numerically-controlled (CNC) application in the machine to produce the same part repeatedly, while meeting specifications and tolerances with the same accuracy for each part. Then the actual operation is carried out by a general worker. This process opened the door of opportunity for unskilled workers to gain entry into the industry as trainees or general workers, resulting in reduced labor costs for the manufacturer.
MILTON MANUFACTURING has forged an educational and working relationship with the nationally-recognized civil and human rights organization, Focus:HOPE.
MILTON MANUFACTURING aims to be the best in its industry, and our ability to achieve that goal rests largely on the suggestions and talents of our employees — as well as the capabilities of a robot!
