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Optimus Steel: supporting local causes as well as forests

 

Optimus Steel volunteers help out at Market to Hope, a cause that saw both employees and their children take part. Based in Beaumont, Texas, Optimus Steel produces wire rods, coiled rebar and billets, but it also gives back to its local community and beyond. Below, Ed Goettl and Daniela Pineda offer two different “giving back” efforts.


On a Saturday morning at 8 am, when most people are thinking of having a hot cup of coffee, the Optimus team assembled at Market to Hope, a partner agency of the Southeast Texas Food Bank, supported by Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. The activity for the day included filling hundreds of boxes full of food for those in need throughout the community.

The team had representatives from every level of our organization. We are especially proud that spouses and children were gladly able to make their contributions to the effort with us. Our youngest team members were 8 and 11 years old! The activity commenced with food items being packed into boxes, in a well-organized assembly line, then filling carts that were delivered to those waiting in line. The activity was well organized, the team worked hard and had fun. We finished early and without any safety incidents. The process didn’t end with distributing the food as it also included disposal of boxes and a 5S (Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain) of the warehouse.

This was an important local effort, but Optimus Steel continues to believe in giving back on another level for the greater good. That’s why since 2020, in the name of our customers, we have supported One Tree Planted (OTP). The non-profit association, dedicated to reforestation, is active in 43 countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Since 2014, it has planted more than 40 million new trees. We are proud to say that some of those were donated quarterly in the names of our individual customers. At last count, together we have provided more than 60,000.

Our desire for the future is to continue supporting our customers, our employees, their families, the local community and the wider world by these and other concrete and measurable actions. All of this has helped our team become more aware of our relationship with those we impact, which motivates them to challenge us to do more.

For more on OTP, go to www.onetreeplanted.org.


Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 11 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

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Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

Read 921 times Last modified on December 22, 2022
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