Tech Foundry forges pathways to success

IT training hub targets diverse candidates

ROBBINS

By C AROLyN

Special to The Republican

Self-taught computer geek Raven Brantley, who graduated from Springfield Renaissance High School and later attended Holyoke Community College, had already put a hold on his degree plans when his sister told him about Tech Foundry.

The Springfield-headquartered nonprofit organization is dedicated to filling the growing need for workers in information technology.

Last month Brantley was among 32 graduates, who completed Tech Foundry’s tuition-free 18-week workforce training program, putting them on a path to a career in the redhot IT field.

Tech Foundry’s CEO Tricia Canavan said there must be a sense of urgency about training the workforce for jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields, noting that a recent study by former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration predicts the commonwealth will need to retrain 300,000 to 400,000 people to fill STEM jobs in the next decade.

“I already had some computer hardware experience,” Brantley said. ”Tech Foundry gave me a chance to get my feet wet and gain a basic understanding of what IT is all about and the many branches in the field — from networking to cybersecurity.”

Brantley added, “The program opens doors to all kinds of opportunities.” With a certificate from Tech Foundry, he and his cohorts gain hands-on technical training along with internships at local companies.

“Tech Foundry even arranged for us to participate in a mock job interview to help give us confidence in interview settings,” Brantley said. “It was pretty cool. Our interviewers were from India.”

Brantley worked as an intern in the IT department at American International College through the program. After graduation, Brantley said he will continue to seek out other opportunities with the goal of entering the field of cybersecurity. “I’d like to work for a company and one day own my own company,” he said.

Tech Foundry was the brainchild of entrepreneur Delcie Bean, CEO of Paragus IT, and Josh Finkel, then a math teacher at South Hadley High School, who first started Valley Technical Outreach. Out of that grew the plans for Tech Foundry with the hope of creating a tech jobs hub for students in Springfield. “Since it was established founded in 2014, Tech Foundry has trained more than 400 students and engaged 100 employers across sectors contributing to a growing IT eco-system,” Canavan said. The training program is designed for students like Brantley, Canavan said, adding that applicants only need a high school diploma to enroll. “It’s an incredible opportunity for students,” she said, adding that the agency aims to expand its outreach to potential candidates.

“Enrollment has been a bit challenging,” she said. The program is funded for 50. And, despite an aggressive campaign, only 40 enrolled in the fall, with 32 making it to graduation.

“We’re reaching out to high school students and community colleges,” Canavan said. “There is an untapped pool out there,” she said, adding that Tech Foundry is planning to reach out to “gamers” whose skills could be translated to IT work.

Funded by area employers, Canavan said the agency’s $800,000 annual budget supports its mission to support the region’s growing need for a qualified technology workforce while elevating under-represented groups into sustainable careers in IT.

Tech Foundry, which has a staff of seven, receives state and federal workforce development funds and generous support from philanthropic sources such as the Irene & George Davis Foundation, the Beveridge Foundation and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts — as well as support from the health and education sectors and other nonprofits.

Canavan, former CEO of United Personnel Services, said the experience she gained in the employment and recruiting field and her work on a number of boards dedicated to workforce development are an asset to her new job at Tech Foundry.

During an interview in Tech Foundry’s ninth-floor perch in the historic Harrison Building at 1391 Main St., Canavan’s enthusiasm and passion for her job and the city of Springfield are evident.

“We need to develop equity-based solutions to meet the economic challenges facing the region,” she said.

In the Future of Work Commission study released in mid2021, the state lauded Tech Foundry diversity, equity and inclusion efforts through its outreach, training and career support for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

“Because increasing automation in the workplace will disproportionately displace women, Black and Hispanic workers, reskilling and upskilling for these residents will ensure more opportunities in the increasingly technology-focused economy,” the report said. It added that defined career paths in technology or health care can also counteract the growing wage gap, which has “urgent racial equity implications” for the common- wealth.

A study published by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation in December says that an aging and declining population is reducing the size of the state’s workforce, putting the state’s economy in jeopardy. That report concluded the Bay State can no longer “passively rely on the reputations of its higher education and health sectors to attract sufficient talent to be proactive in attracting sufficient talent to meet the demand of the elite and expanding economy.”

This looming worker shortage makes the need for technology training even more important, Canavan said. “We are helping people gain access to living wage opportunities that enable them to build economic security for their families,” she said. “It’s imperative that we tap the talent that we have here.”

Tech Foundry’s work is appreciated by its client companies.

Cindy Bisner, vice president of centralized services for ICS, a managed IT service provider with offices in Raynham and Worcester, said Tech Foundry is a great partner for the company. “We consistently are seeking entry level technicians to join our organization and help grow their careers,” she said.

Bisner said, “Tech Foundry has been a perfect partner in helping us find such IT talent. Their training program is uniquely designed to prepare students with the IT skills we are seeking in our candidates.”

She added that Tech Foundry’s willingness to refine its program based on partner inputs has been a key success factor in the partnership.

“Tech Foundry’s commitment to elevate underrepresented talent groups and provide a pathway to success in IT aligns well with our ICS Cares program mission — giving back to the communities in which we do business – and is exactly one of the ways we can make a difference,” Bisner said.

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Many of us are guilty of overconfidence at one point or another. Say you check directions and see that it will take 17 minutes to get to your destination and think, “Okay, great. I can make it in 15.” Sound familiar?

Sound familiar?

Do you trust your GPS or do you always assume you can get there just a little bit faster? Arriving to a birthday party a few minutes late isn’t usually a big deal, but overestimating your control as an investor can potentially lead to serious problems for you and your finances.

Many of us are guilty of overconfidence at one point or another. Say you check directions and see that it will take 17 minutes to get to your destination and think, “Okay, great. I can make it in 15.”

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Many of us are guilty of overconfidence at one point or another. Say you check directions and see that it will take 17 minutes to get to your destination and think, “Okay, great. I can make it in 15.” Sound familiar?

We all have subconscious biases, but that doesn’t mean they need to get in the way of your financial success. As a financial advisor, I can help you set up guardrails against your own biases and give you the tools and education you need to manage your hard-earned wealth with confidence.

In addition to providing personalized financial guidance, I also serve as a knowledgeable resource and accountability partner for my clients, helping them to stay on track for their long-term goals.

How can I help you reach yours?

We all have subconscious biases, but that doesn’t mean they need to get in the way of your financial success. As a financial advisor, I can help you set up guardrails against your own biases and give you the tools and education you need to manage your hard-earned wealth with confidence.

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Its OMG Roofing division specializes in insulation adhesives, technology for installing thermoplastic roofing membranes and technology for commercial roof drains. FastenMaster focuses on fastening solutions for professional contractors including wood-to-wood connections for homes, and fasteners for composite decks and trim.

McGovern said they expect demand for OMG products, which took off during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, to continue at least through the first half of this year. He noted the company still has a strong backlog. It produces more than 1 billion fasteners annually.

Russell “Web” Shaffer, senior vice president and general manager of FastenMaster, noted the pandemic boom is starting to ebb, and McGovern’s caution on the second half of 2023 is related to uncertainty about the economy.

“The first two years (of the pandemic), business exploded. Roofing was on a tear and will continue into (2023), but in the second half of (2023), nobody knows,” Shaffer said. “A lot hinges on inflation, interest rates and what happens with the economy. Because of that, we tend to be more cautious than overly exuberant.”

It helped that OMG was considered an “essential business” during the pandemic, as its products were considered critical to building facilities such as schools and hospitals.

FastenMaster products can be found at retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, hardware stores and independent lumberyards. And while the business boom took off sooner for FastenMaster, it also slowed down quicker, Shaffer said.

Sales increased 12% overall in 2022 for the private company, which is a division of a public company called Steel Partners, a group of industrial firms. From 2019 to 2020, sales bumped up 5%, then jumped 20% from 2020 to 2021. Shaffer said they did not know what to expect in the early days of the pandemic.

“The first couple of months everyone was expecting terrible things to happen. The boom sort of didn’t really happen until the middle of the year. That’s part of the reason why the gross in sales that year wasn’t as strong as it could have been,” Shaffer said.

The company benefited, he said, from people working from home who looked around their surroundings and said, “I need to improve my living space.” That also included their outdoor living spaces because people could not vacation. As a result, some installed swimming pools or built new decks, creating the need for the company’s products, he said.

Added McGovern, “We didn’t expect the home remodeling boom,” noting that FastenMaster “really caters to residential construction.”

Shaffer said FastenMaster has invented a lot of categories in the home improvement space, such as the LOKLine brand of structural wood fasteners, and Cortex, a hidden fastening system for premium decks. Composite decks now comprise a quarter of the market, according to Shaffer, and the company has had a lot of success with selling fasteners for these decks as they require “less maintenance and last a long time.”

“They’ve turned out to be a great investment. There’s low to no maintenance, and you can get them in great finishes now. They’re very appealing compared to the original plastic decks which were cruder in their finish,” Shaffer said.

FastenMaster’s Cortex Hidden Fastening System used for decks was named an innovation award winner for 2022 by Home Depot.

OMG roofing products have been around since the company’s inception in 1981, according to McGovern. Back then, the company was known as Olympic Fasteners and specialized in adhesives. He described OMG as a leader in flat roofing fasteners for membrane roofs and noted the company also sells insulation adhesives for membrane roofs.

And, while OMG may be texting slang today, it wasn’t back in 2004 when the company’s name changed to OMG. Because the company could not use the word “Olympic” in its name — the Olympic Committee would not allow it — it shortened the previous business name of Olympic Manufacturing Group to OMG.

“People remember it,” Shaffer said about the name OMG.

OMG employs the majority of its employees — 450 — in Agawam, and also has a half dozen employees in China and four in Europe. In addition to its site in the er 60,000 square feet on Bowles Road in 2021. That led to an increase in head count of about 20 people, he said. According to information from the company, that project brought its footprint to 480,000 square feet across six facilities in the industrial park.

The majority of the company’s products are either made in Agawam or the Midwest, with some imported, McGovern said. Shaffer said they are doing the expansion projects so they no longer have to import.

McGovern said that the roofing division sells through

Agawam Regional Industrial Park, the company has a plant in Addison, Illinois, where 50 people make fasteners, an adhesives plant for the roofing division in Rockford, Minnesota, with 20 employees, and a warehouse and sales office in Charlotte, North Carolina, with approximately 15 people.

The company is “constantly hiring people,” and the executives said they have hired an additional 80 employees since the COVID boom, mostly in Agawam and including some in Illinois. Job openings continue to be advertised on the company website, omgroofing.com

“As a consequence of the demand increase for the last three years, we have felt a critical need to grow and expand our capacity. We’ve managed to overcome supply chain challenges, and came to the conclusion we need to grow our capacity,” Shaffer said.

To that end, an expansion is underway in Illinois, where they are adding a 115,000-square-foot building for more manufacturing and warehousing space. Shaffer said they will have two buildings once the project is completed, noting they invested “millions in manufacturing equipment” at the new leased facility.

He added that they are also planning to expand in Agawam, a project that will cost between $20 million to $30 million. Shaffer said they hope to break ground sometime this year with completion slated for 2024 That will result in a 70,000-squarefoot addition to a building they already own, almost doubling the footprint.

“That creates lots of jobs and opportunities for people,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer noted they also added square footage during the pandemic. McGovern said they leased anoth- distributors and private-label manufacturers to approximately 10,000 customers all over the world. FastenMaster’s business is primarily in North America, in comparison, Shaffer said.

Jeffrey Gelinas, who was hired last year as manager of sales training for its FastenMaster and roofing products divisions, came from Westfield Middle School, where he was a science teacher and helped develop the science curriculum. Gelinas is developing, and will manage, a sales training program. He also will create a curriculum, role-specific sales training and analytics for measuring program effectiveness, and oversee new hire and advancement training.

McGovern said they are excited for the future, and more growth in Massachusetts and the Midwest.

“We think it’s an exciting place to work,” McGovern said. “We have a sign out front that says, ‘We make it happen.’”

Shaffer noted the company has had success both domestically and internationally, the latter, he said, “is a bit unusual for a manufacturing company in Massachusetts, and reinforces the success the company’s had and the unique culture here that’s driven that success.”

“The products we make our highly engineered and don’t sound maybe that interesting to some people,” Shaffer said. “But they’re pretty critical in the role they play in our infrastructure, and we see a lot of opportunity both here and (around the world) to grow our business.”

And while fasteners may represent a small portion of the overall construction cost, McGovern said they are “immensely critical because of course they hold it all together.”

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