Portage High School visits MonoSol and Ratner Steel during Portage EDC’s 2025 Manufacturing 360

With many manufacturing plants calling Portage home, there is always a demand for workers to fill various positions at each plant. However, letting job seekers know what is in store for them in a manufacturing career can be a challenge. This is where Manufacturing 360, a program by the Portage Economic Development Corporation (EDC), steps in to introduce high school students to the rich, local opportunities in manufacturing.

“We’ve been doing Manufacturing 360 since 2017 and visiting different places. Some of these folks we connect with for these tours are partners of ours at Portage EDC,” said Portage EDC Executive Director Andy Maletta. “This all stemmed from businesses saying they need help getting a workforce. My response to that always is, ‘I have a whole high school full of kids here. What do you need?’ That’s how the Manufacturing 360 program was born. We felt that it was really important to get them out here to actually see the businesses. This lets them talk to somebody who actually works on a line at a manufacturing plant. It lets them see what’s available right here in Portage on top of it. We think it’s pretty impactful for the kids.”

Each year, Portage EDC picks out two companies to visit, with this year’s field trip including MonoSol, which makes water-soluble film primarily for Tide Pods and Cascade Detergent, and Ratner Steel Supply Company. Providing this exposure to various avenues and companies within the manufacturing field opens students’ eyes to jobs they may not have previously known. Choosing to seek a job in manufacturing also does not require a college degree, extending high-paying career opportunities to individuals who decide that they would like to go straight into the workforce.

“I think the important part is to let them know that manufacturing is also an option. It’s not just about college. College isn’t for everybody,” said MonoSol Production Manager Dan Howard. “I think some people see manufacturing jobs as something beneath them, and it’s not right because there are a lot of opportunities in manufacturing. It’s a good way to start out and then even develop your career. If they want to work with a manufacturing facility around here, MonoSol is a great choice.”

In addition to touring both manufacturing plants, witnessing the people and machines at work, and learning about several manufacturing processes, students also learned about the job stability that comes with manufacturing positions.

“If you’re willing to come in, to be taught, to learn, to take initiative, and to pay attention to your surroundings to stay safe, this is the place for you. It is a great career, whether you have a college degree or don’t – the steel industry is not going anywhere,” said Ratner Steel Office Manager and Inside Sales Manager Andrea Koenig. “It’s an essential industry. We have letters from the government requiring us to stay open during COVID because they considered us essential. Steel is in everything: bridges, trucks, lawn mowers, forklifts, street signs—you name it. Steel is never going anywhere.”

To tackle both the MonoSol and Ratner Steel manufacturing plants, students were divided into two groups to rotate through each location. Once the tours were completed, students boarded the bus and met at Ivy Tech Community College’s Valparaiso campus for lunch, tours, and demonstrations.

“We have 500-600 high school students graduating each year. This shows them that there are options for them. At the end, we always bring them to Ivy Tech, which shows them that they don’t necessarily need four-year college certifications. They can get associate degrees or specific training,” Maletta said. “If they want to become welders, they can come here and get a welding certificate, which would help them in a job. We let them see and talk to people in manufacturing, watch the processes, pique their interest a little bit, and then bring them to Ivy Tech. Ivy Tech is a place that offers another opportunity for students to help them advance in those jobs.”

For more information about Portage Economic Development Corporation, visit portagein.org.