MATC’s Workforce Solutions team helps Sellars Absorbent Materials secure state grant and train workers
MATC instructor Patrick Hanson taught Edwin Roman Jr. how to maintain machines on the shop floor.
In the mechanized symphony performed each day at Sellars Absorbent Materials on Milwaukee’s North Side, Edwin Roman Jr. is the maestro of his machine. He operates and monitors high-tech converting equipment that helps the company manufacture and package shop towels, disposable wipers, tissues and absorbents made with recycled fibers. Roman makes sure his machine keeps humming, playing its proper part in the factory’s carefully orchestrated manufacturing chain. But when it skips a beat, he has the skills — and the confidence — to diagnose what’s wrong and repair it. “When a machine has problems, I see if I can fix it myself before I call maintenance,” said Roman, who has worked at Sellars for two years. Roman was one of the seven Sellars employees who completed a series of Manufacturing Maintenance courses taught by MATC instructors.
The training was funded by a state grant that Sellars secured in 2023. MATC’s Workforce Solutions team helped Sellars customize the maintenance courses to fit the company’s needs. “Sellars believes that by investing in their workforce they are changing lives,” said Trisha Stehr, client services manager at Workforce Solutions, which helps clients improve employee productivity, reduce costs and increase revenue. “They have shown how important it is to invest in employees’ educational growth. They really embrace growing employees from within. And by investing in their employees, they have created a positive work environment.” Roman wholeheartedly agreed. The Milwaukee native was working at a cemetery when his father, Edwin Roman Sr., who works in Sellars’ maintenance department, referred him to the company. “I came here and my life changed,” Roman Jr. said. “Participating in the Manufacturing Maintenance program was a great opportunity, and I took it. I made a great choice.”
Students take a picture and Sellars employees take a picture.
Recruit and retain
Sellars was founded in 1985 by John Sellars out of his home and garage. The company uses proprietary technology to enhance the strength, absorbency and bulk in making paper towels and wipes. It is one of only two facilities in the world that makes Double Re-Crepe (DRC) towels and wipes, and the only one that manufactures these products with recycled materials. The company’s ToolBox band shop towels can be found in major home improvement retailers and mass merchants. Its Clean Task products are sold through numerous janitorial/sanitary maintenance, industrial, safety and specialty distributors in North America and Europe. The newest product, Bravo household/kitchen towels, are made of 90% recycled material and available at Target. Chief People Officer Dr. Nilda Cintrón-Cortez, Chief Operations Officer Julie Graverson and Chief Executive Officer Tom Sellars recognized the company needed to recruit and retain skilled manufacturing maintenance employees, improve the customer service rating and increase overall morale. Dr. Cintrón-Cortez, who attended MATC in the 1990s before transferring to Mount Mary University, reached out to the college’s Workforce Solutions team. “I had worked with Trisha on and off in the past,” she said. “We knew how they could help. We appreciate the support we received for this program that helps improve lives.”
Workforce Solutions developed a customized training program for Sellars and that helped secure the $237,295 Wisconsin Fast Forward grant in May 2023. With the money, seven Sellars employees, including Roman, completed 10 Manufacturing Maintenance courses taught by MATC instructor Patrick Hanson. The classes included math, blueprint reading, basic hydraulics and pneumatics, and introduction to motor controls. The first year, Hanson came to Sellars and taught courses. In the second year, the employees went to MATC to do hands-on training. “They were so excited about learning,” Graverson said. “They found it challenging — some of them had not been in school for a while — but they felt rewarded by that challenge. It also built their self-confidence.” Graverson added, “We would definitely do this again. We believe in investing in our people so they become long-term employees. This is career and professional development.”
“We would definitely do this again. We believe in investing in our people so they become long-term employees.”
A caring corporate culture
Offering additional training is just one of several programs Sellars has to help recruit and retain employees. Along with providing quality healthcare and generous retirement benefits, the company helps employees buy homes through the Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership, helps pay for transportation to work and offers tuition assistance for workers wanting to further their education. Investing in these programs is working. Turnover rates at Sellars have declined by nearly 50%. “The company supports these things. There is a cost, but these are programs we are very proud of. It is very rewarding to see the positive impact that our support has on our peoples’ lives,” Graverson said. Dr. Cintrón-Cortez agreed: “We believe in servant leadership and want to serve our employees at a high level. We want to set high standards.”
Kenyatta Robinson, Chief Operations, Sellars