Why did I leave 20 years of time invested in another R&D new product development company to become part of The Village?
We make cool stuff. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that what first caught my eye was the arcade products made by Bay Tek. Playing a part in bringing excitement and joy to families through products like Big Bass Wheel, Skee-Ball®, and Willy Crash makes “work” feel less like “work.” I love working on products like this and seeing the eyes light up and smiles broaden on the faces of children (as well as adults) that visit for a facility tour. Did I mention we have an arcade in our manufacturing facility? We work hard, but play just as hard.
We make all kinds of cool stuff. If you can tear yourself away from the game room, you’ll see that we make a lot of really cool products. We have new consumer focused products like digital pinball, a high tech electronic bag toss game, hunting blinds and accessories, 3D Printer Filament and cornhole bags just to name a few. We also do contract manufacturing for a wide variety of companies like large vehicle equipment control boxes, ovens that cook with the power of the sun, large scale lithium-ion batteries for industrial equipment, the list is endless and ever growing.
We make all kinds of cool stuff HERE. Supporting the made in America concept is important to me. All of our cool stuff is made right here in Pulaski, WI. We have metal fabrication, wood working, electronics, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, engineering (software, electrical, mechanical) and manufacturing. Raw materials come into our buildings and really cool stuff ships out to customers around the world. All of this leads to an infinite amount of opportunity for career growth and even path change.
I get to have fun and I get to be me. Fun is one of our core values and we live that as often as we can.
I have always enjoyed being part of technically innovative teams, working to solve problems and provide solutions. From Star Wars day celebrations to weekly summer cookouts, I can honestly say I have never had as much fun doing what I do as I have these past 5 years with The Village Companies.
We get to make a difference. This is most important to me. Being an employee of The Village Companies means that I have the ability to be part of something impacting a larger number of people's lives. I get to be part of bringing new products to market that enhance the enjoyment and quality of life for our customers. 10% of our profits from those products go back to the communities that we live, work, and play in through charitable contributions. Another 10% of our profits are shared with our teammates, allowing us to have a positive impact on the lives of those we directly love and care about. We interact and participate with local schools and colleges to help make certain that tomorrow is just as bright as today. The mission, vision, and values really mean something here and it shows.
If you are reading this and aren’t already a teammate, I look forward to meeting you at the next new hire lunch. I’ll be the guy in the Star Wars t-shirt. 😉
TikTok: @thevillageco Is anybody else as excited as Rick that it’s May 4th? #starwars #may4th #starwarsday #fyp #thevillage
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