White City Industry Tour is a Wrap!

On Monday, March 18, local educators and professionals along with 2 SOREDI staff boarded a bus and headed to White City to tour three of the manufacturing companies located there. The third location was followed by a stop at Crater High School before heading back to SOREDI headquarters at the end of the day.

First stop, Carestream, has been in the Rogue Valley at the same location since 1965, starting as 3M, then to Imation, to Kodak and now Carestream. Mike Tylutki, Plant Manager, lead the way. It started with manufacturing copy paper then to graphics film, and now the current products are medical films and CM (Automotive, Medical). There are a total of 197 employees associated with this site. The tour group accessorized with factory jumpsuits and antistatic tape before entering the facility.

The next stop brought us to Croman Corporation where Brian Beattie, Director of Operations, welcomed us. Croman has been certified by the FAA to not only maintain all of the S-61 helicopter parts, but to manufacture them as well. We saw all kinds of parts both big and small! Croman is the largest operator of the S-61 in the world. Their main efforts involve fire suppression, but have a part in heavy lift construction, and continue to have a touch with logging, which is where they got their start in 1975. The fire season generally starts in March and goes through November, typically starting in Florida and following the summer season back to the West Coast.

The last White City stop was at Highway Products where we walked through the manufacturing facility and saw the high quality and attention to detail at work. Their patent pending utility deck creates a custom product for work trucks. Gene Gros, the founder and President of the company led the way through all the different stations and custom solutions being made for clients. On the same property, Pavati Wake Boats, started by Gene’s brother Chuck, has its own manufacturing facility. These boats are built custom for each client and there were a good number getting ready for delivery.

What a great representation we experienced of the type of business that goes on day in and day out (sometimes 24/7!) here in Southern Oregon. All three of these companies provide products and services that reach far beyond our borders and yet directly impact our region with jobs and contributing to our economy. Thank you Carestream, Croman Corporation, Highway Products and Pavati Wake Boats for all you’re doing to make Southern Oregon such a great place to live, work, and do business!

Our final stop of the tour ended at Crater High School where we heard from three FFA students and their experience there at Crater. They each spoke to the welding program that brought them unique experiences that have contributed to their future career paths. We also toured their new greenhouse to see a full nursery of plants waiting to be sold at their plant sale April 26-28.

Thank you to SOESD for providing such great opportunities for students to develop practical and leadership skills as they prepare for their future!

Thank you to our two generous Industry Tour Sponsors!