Steve Hartz, president and CEO of Value Tool and Engineering, executive director of The Apprentice Academy

By Phil D’Amico, director of business growth, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County

Recently I had the opportunity to catch up with Steve Hartz, president of Value Tool and Engineering and executive director of the Apprentice Academy, for a sit-down conversation.

Value Tool is a fast-growing advanced manufacturing machine shop in the South Bend area. It specializes in the aerospace, defense and orthopedic medicine industries. (For an in-depth look at Value Tool and Engineering, click here.) The Apprentice Academy’s primary mission is to help both youth and adults prepare themselves for careers in the career and technical education (vocational education) fields.

Steve Hartz, president and CEO of Value Tool and Engineering, and executive director of the Apprentice Academy

Q: Between the school, your business, and your workout schedule, I imagine life is anything but boring.
A: Ha-ha-ha! That’s a fair assessment. I keep myself very busy. But, you know, I absolutely love it and cannot imagine myself doing anything else. I absolutely have fun every day.

Q: How have you seen the state of our manufacturing today?
A: I think manufacturing is coming back strong. I think the Midwest has seen growth this year in both manufactured and finished goods domestically. And I think we have started to see some of the manufactured products that were sent to China and India come back to the United States. We have seen aerospace and defense work, make a strong comeback as well as the orthopedic market in Warsaw, Indiana. We have also seen banks start to lend money again and equipment investments have been on the rise among some of our local manufacturers. All of this has me more optimistic.

Q: What do you feel is our biggest challenges in manufacturing today, and specifically locally?
A: Well, for starters, it is always a challenge for our manufacturers to stay competitive in an inflationary environment, which our nation may be heading toward in 2011. I also believe the tax structure at times can be burdensome, especially on new equipment purchases. Finally, we still have a shortage of qualified individuals that could enter the workforce.

Q: Is that why you started The Apprentice Academy?
A: Sort of. I really wanted to see someone, and now our academy, teach those relevant skills that manufacturing employers want to see. I hear and see every day what business owners like me want to see out of the next generation of our advanced manufacturing workforce. Also, I want to create an avenue for those students where the traditional college prep path may not be their goal. There are so many careers in vocational education that can prepare individuals for great jobs, and jobs that they want to do; we just need to find an outlet to teach and train individuals for these careers. I think we are making strides in this area, but still have a ways to go.

Q: What is the biggest challenge in getting our youth interested in these types of careers?
A: That is a good question. Really it’s probably two things:

1. We need to do a better job of letting our youth know that the advanced manufacturing jobs of today are not “factory” jobs. These jobs are high-skilled, computer-based, technology-driven, and very “cool” jobs.

2. We need to do a better job of marketing these careers before the students get to high school. In most cases that is too late. They are already on a different path and one they may not have an interest in. If we can show how hands-on, how cool, and technology-driven these careers are at, say, the junior high level, we may have more kids interested earlier on in the process.

So I guess I am saying marketing is a huge piece on both points mentioned. We need to help our younger generation understand advanced manufacturing more clearly.

Q: Looking into the future, how does our area set up for manufacturing growth?
A: Oh, I think real well. First, we are centrally located to many of the nation’s key manufacturing sector. The Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis and St. Louis areas are all within real short driving distances. So logistically we are positioned well for many of our nation’s largest employers to utilize our strengths. The manufacturing base is very strong in our region. We have got some long-standing history here that lends itself to having a positive reputation in the manufacturing industry.

Q: Are you ever going to get some rest?
A: Ha-ha-ha! I’m having fun. I love being a part of growing our manufacturing base, our youth programs, and our region. This is what keeps me energized.