Sheboygan Wisconsin has a lot of titles: Malibu of the Midwest, Freshwater Surf Capital, Bratwurst Capital of the World, a golfers’ dream paradise, an ideal summer getaway for people in Illinois and other parts of Wisconsin, and home to almost 50,000 people. Sheboygan has also repeatedly been put into the top 10 list of factory towns in the country.
From the various bathroom appliance factories in the county including Bemis and Kohler Co, to food processors like Johnsonville and Old Wisconsin, there’s honestly too many factories and shops, large and small, to name. I myself continue to learn about manufacturing companies that I never knew were in my own backyard.
Many of the manufacturing companies around may struggle with problems such as employee recruiting, training, and turn-over. As baby boomers continue to retire, large holes are left needing to be filled by a younger workforce. On top of that, as manufacturing technology and processes advance, blue collar work starts to look and feel less blue collar, indicating that brains may be more valuable to an employer now than brawn, even in entry level positions. In other words, Sheboygan businesses desperately need young, bright, critical thinking individuals. Sheboygan County and some of its largest players see this and are acting on it.
To combat these problems, the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) started the Forward Fund, which has since received funds from Johnsonville, Kohler Co, Masters Gallery Foods, Inc, and Sargento Foods Inc. The objective of this fund is to build affordable housing in order to attract and retain new talent. Development is already full swing on a housing project in Sheboygan Falls that will receive funds from the Forward Fund. The Forward Fund is about a 10 million dollar investment from the companies mentioned before, as well as Sheboygan County.
Is affordable housing all it takes to attract and keep smart young professionals though? I think not. I see a component that is being overlooked: Lifestyle. When you have a high paying manufacturing job and you play your cards right, building a small fortune comes with time. So what’s next? Well lifestyle of course.
A young, mindful, critical thinking professional such as myself is exactly what companies around here want. But I see a place in my life for an efficient, smooth, ecologically sustainable electric vehicle of any body type, size, and power I could want. My dreams are then shattered when I realize I can’t feasibly own an EV (electric vehicle) that isn’t a Tesla. If you live in most apartments, or if your house requires you use street parking, then you cannot charge at home. If there were public level 3 DC CCS & CHAdeMO fast chargers, then you could charge up weekly or so like you would with gasoline. Alas, but there aren’t public fast chargers in Sheboygan besides a single cluster of Tesla Superchargers that only mostly Tesla’s can use. BUT, there is still one more charging option!
If your employer has level 2 charging, even if you pay a little for use, then you have a place to charge your electric vehicle! You are at work for 5 or so days a week regardless and for long periods of time, perfect for cheap level 2 chargers that take 4 - 6 hours to charge. And if my employer can’t provide that, it may be time to say goodbye.
Is that remark a bit of a stretch? To leave an employer simply because you can’t charge your vehicle there?
Not at all. You want to keep and attract good employees; good employees that think critically, understand bigger pictures, really get efficiency, that take action when they see a problem, and approach processes and issues with a creatively different perspective. Those employees are in demand, especially in one of the top factory towns in the country. Those employees have options and don’t particularly NEED to work for you. They have options. People with those same attributes are often gravitated to electric vehicles. They may be young and can’t purchase a house with a garage to charge an EV yet, or simply don’t see the point of home ownership at all, but that doesn’t stop a lot of people buying whatever vehicle they want. Some of your new engineers and other higher education requisite positioned employees may come from large progressive cities and colleges far away such as Chicago, and they want to bring their lifestyles with them, lifestyles that may include an EV or plug-in hybrid. If they see you cannot support that, they won't even apply.
Is giving your employees access to charging their vehicles too much to ask for? After all, it’s not like you can fuel your gas or diesel vehicles at work!
But that’s where charging an EV is radically different. It’s no different than being able to charge your phone or airpods at work. An EV is an electrical appliance that acts as your mode of transportation. Let’s say 10 of your employees have EV’s and all of them can charge at home, however 3 of those employees live so far away that their EV can get them to work, but maybe not all the way back home. The lives of those employees becomes much more convenient when they can plug in their EV when they arrive at work, and don’t have to worry if they will make it home, or worry about trying to find a public charger. If someone forgets to charge their EV overnight at home, you the employer becomes their hero! This scenario paints even more true when considering executives and other out of town business people coming from places 2 hours or more away. Time is money for them, and if they can plug in for the 2 or 4 hours they are visiting your business, that may be all they need to return back, skipping diverting their route just to fast charge for 30 minutes elsewhere.
Giving your employees and guests charging options also can be used to promote your company's image, and can send a message. Hosting chargers can say this about your business; You are forward thinking, you understand sustainability and efficiency, you can look into the future and act in the present, and you are thoughtful about your employees and guests. What kinds of shockwaves can that message send to the people that want to work for you, and to the people that want to do business with you?
If you have a business or manage a major workplace in Sheboygan County, keep this in mind; You are not just in competition with your industry competitors. You are also in competition with every other business in Sheboygan County for your talented workforce. The efficiency of your operations, the quality of your products and services, largely starts with the quality of your team no matter what level or position they are at. If you struggle with those things, if you can’t quite figure out why so many employees leave after so much time, why you can’t seem to get many skilled or experienced people through your doors, it's maybe because you aren’t providing the amenities they want or need. Give EV charging access to your employees and guests, you literally don’t know what or who you’re missing out on if you don’t.
Kohler Co has a single private DC fast charger with 2 plugs that only Kohler employees can use. A fast charge will take 30 minutes on average. The cost to install a single fast charger could be the same to install 4 to 6 level 2 chargers. Level 2 charging can take 4 to 6 hours to charge an EV, but is perfect if you’re at work for 8 hours a day! Installing more level 2 chargers compared to a single fast charger also decreases the chance that you would block another person that also wants to charge their EV. Most plug-in hybrids also can’t fast charge, meaning a level 2 charger is more versatile.
-Jared Soto
Sources:
Sheboygan Top 20 Factory Town:
Sheboygan Top 10 Factory Town:
Sheboygan Housing Demand Increase as Sheboygan Hiring Demand Increases:
Kohler Co Private Fast Charger:
Stock Photo Attribution:
<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/stressed-business-man">Stressed Business Man Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>