ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – An Escanaba employer has been recognized for its commitment to hiring men and women who served in the Armed Forces.
On Thursday, Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! honored Engineered Machined Products (EMP) as its 2024 Veteran Business of the Year.
“We machine mostly conventional products, so aluminum and steel, grey iron casting,” explained EMP Plant Director Chad Leiter. “We are also fully automated, so it’s a very full-service supplier. All our automation designers sit here locally, we have tool designers that sit here locally, a full apprenticeship program that we grow here.”
At EMP, 10% of the workforce is made up of veterans.
“Veterans have always been important to EMP,” Leiter said. “U.P. Michigan Works! introduced us to a new veteran program. That was really nice because we didn’t know that was necessarily out there.”
U.P. Michigan Works! collaborates with Veterans Employment Services to help vets transition from service to civilian life.
“A lot of veterans just want to come home,” said Jim Messer, Director of Talent Services. “We want to be able to help them come home, and at the end of that is employment so they can take care of their family. They need help; they need another career.”
One such veteran is EMP Quote Coordinator Nicki Owens, who served in the Army National Guard.
“I trained at Fort Jackson in South Carolina to be a paralegal specialist, so I went through JAG Corps training and I was stationed at the 107th Engineer Batallion in Ishpeming,” Owens said. “I was out of work and looking for a local opportunity that would be a good fit for me, so I went to Michigan Works! for resources.”
In addition to resume writing and interviewing assistance, U.P. Michigan Works! connected Owens with a benefit that will allow her to earn her master’s degree. Michigan Works! also helped her secure her current position with EMP.
“What attracted me to EMP is the benefits here, their respect for veterans,” said Owens. “There’s a really good leadership group here, and people come in and they don’t leave. This is really a top-tier employer in the area, and it’s hard to sometimes find that high-quality position in somewhat of a rural area.”
U.P. Michigan Works! says that dedication to employees—particularly those who have served—is what makes EMP the 2024 Veteran Business of the Year.
“EMP has been a longstanding partner with Michigan Works!, and they employ a lot of veterans,” Messer said. “To all the veterans out there, come see us. We have a lot of different programs and partners that we can help you with, so come talk to us.”
“There’s always been a longstanding acknowledgment for the value of our armed forces and veterans, so anything that we can do to help, we will always do,” said Leiter.
To learn more about services available through Upper Peninsula Michigan Works!, click here.
