Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke

Chuck Hatzenbuehler’s welding class at Deshler High School.

Providing opportunities for those interested in acquiring practical skills like welding is important for a manufacturing company like Reinke, and it is also highly beneficial for the entire local community. That is why the company has invested in several welding classes for high school students and other community members. Some students are ultimately hired by Reinke, but all of them leave the classes with skills that can help them in a variety of professions. Chuck Hatzenbuehler is a Reinke employee who helps schools in Nebraska and Kansas with their welding programs. In this interview, he tells Irrigation Leader about these programs and the opportunities they provide, both at the company and elsewhere.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: I started at Reinke in 1983 and have worked in a lot of different weld positions. I currently work in the quality assurance department as a welding technician and have been in this position for about 15 years.

Irrigation Leader: How did you learn to weld?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: A number of years ago, before I worked for Reinke, I worked for Burlington Northern Railroad and went through its apprenticeship program. That’s how a lot of my welding knowledge and skills were developed. Of course, the training is never done. You never stop learning. Welding has evolved so much over the years that there’s always new stuff to learn, especially with automation and programmable-type welding.

Irrigation Leader: How did Reinke begin to sponsor welding courses?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: In 2007, the Reinke family and other management leaders at the company wanted a way to get more welders while also benefiting the community. We’ve always done training at the plant, and they decided to reach out to the school systems and see if they would be interested in starting something for high school students. The first program we started was at Republic County High School in Belleville, Kansas, in 2008. We started a program at Deshler High School in Deshler, Nebraska, in 2009 and at Fillmore Central High School in Geneva, Nebraska, around 2010. Reinke worked with Cloud County, Kansas, and Southeast Community College in Nebraska to develop accredited adult classes. Those also started with the high school programs. In 2015–2016, Reinke developed and sponsored an irrigation technician program at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, and we work with the welding program there, too.

Irrigation Leader: Are the college classes regular, fullsemester classes?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: We meet for 3½ hours one night a week for 12 weeks. The course is given once each semester. We go through basic technology and theory regarding welding on both steel and aluminum. The adults earn college credits. The high school students earn high school credits through the same class.

Irrigation Leader: Does Reinke provide both the materials and the instruction?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes. Reinke provides the schools with weld material. We donate metal scrap and drop it off to most of the schools in our region, in both Nebraska and Kansas.

Irrigation Leader: Do the high school and college students receive a credential or qualification from taking the course?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Adult and high school students have the opportunity to perform a welder qualification at the end of their training. We work with American Welding Society (AWS) codes and standards to develop all our training, work inspections, and weld inspections. By the end of the class, the students can earn one or two welder qualifications.

Reinke sponsors welder qualifications at Deshler High School, Republic County High School, Fillmore Central High School, and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. Reinke has helped develop these programs with instructor training and equipment and material donations. Reinke will generally give these students an opportunity to take an AWS welding qualification test once or twice a year.

Irrigation Leader: You mentioned that the high schoolers take essentially the same course as the college students. Do you find that they’re up to the task?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes. Our classes are geared toward students of all ages who have limited or no welding experience. Our welder training is developed to provide knowledge for entry-level weld positions in manufacturing.

Irrigation Leader: How much interest is there among high school students?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: The classes are usually full. Both Republic County High School in Belleville, Kansas, and Deshler High School will invite other schools to send students when openings are available.

Irrigation Leader: Reinke also consults with other schools that are developing educational programs similar to the ones you run. What kinds of things do you help with?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Instructors have questions on certain weld processes and technology and equipment issues. We help out as much as possible. Reinke also donates weld curricula.

Irrigation Leader: Has Reinke hired some of the people who have gone through these programs?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes; a lot of students come out of the classes and go into welding. The students in the adult classes include a mix of employees and nonemployees. We also have an internship program for high school students. The students take weld classes in school during their internship programs. They work part time, either during or after the school day, to further their on-the-job experience. We currently have three Deshler students and one Republic County student in the internship program. Two of them are in welding, one is in fabrication, and one is in the electrical shop.

Chuck Hatzenbuehler is a welding technician at Reinke Manufacturing. He can be reached at chuckhatzenbuehler@reinke.com.