We all just took a tour of the Pierce manufacturing plant in Bradenton, Fla.  CareerEdge Funders arranged for our tour. Career Edge is always behind us to enhance our search to find and train needed skilled trades people for our Gulf Coast Florida area.

Pierce is part of a larger company, Oshkosh corporation. They also have a main plant in Wisconsin.  This plant in Florida has been around for awhile and has produced many , many trucks.

These days, the 171,000-square-foot plant is packed with trucks that are works in progress on a dual assembly line. Just as significant — and surprising — the plant also is employing more people than ever before.  They have asked for more metalworkers – especially CNC machinists and CNC sheet metal workers.

The 35-acre Bradenton complex, with outbuildings and an outdoor testing area, is now home to a pair of side-by-side assembly lines, one for the racy ambulances and the other for the imposing-looking fire trucks.

We all enjoyed the trip and the welcome that the Pierce team gave us. We will be working on building a good relationship so we can train great metalworkers to produce the equipment we all need to keep us safe.  Thanks Pierce!