What’s On Your Mind~ Corporate Partner Series
Laura Sorg, Oregon Tool’s Talent Acquisition Program Manager, shared how they are making a positive impact on people, communities, and landscapes. As a manufacturer of cutting tools for over 75 years, global stewardship has been at the heart of our business.
We are dedicated to sustainability and making a positive impact on the people, communities, and landscapes around the world. We strive to serve a higher purpose than the products we make and promote our land and its people through the t.r.e.e. Initiative, a global program focused on training, recovery, environment, and education
Training
Safety is in our DNA. As a manufacturer of precision cutting tools, it is our duty to focus on safety and training to keep our Team Members and customers safe. Our focus on safety and training starts at product development. From our research on abrasive saw kickback, to our extensive internal safety optimization, one could say that safety is baked into our products. Beyond the production floor, we provide hands-on training and instructions for our retailers through educational events that demonstrate safety practices to prevent accidents.
Recovery
Climate change is real and we’re already feeling its impacts. Extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are becoming more frequent and intense, and responding to these disasters is becoming increasingly important. In 2011, after severe hurricane activity in the US, our Team Members wanted to help and came up with an idea to outfit a trailer with various chainsaw parts, saw chain, sharpening tools, and service items to assist first responders on the ground. Our first disaster relief trailer was built and deployed for Hurricane Sandy that year, helping people and utility professionals who were desperate to remove fallen trees. Since then, our disaster response trailer team, in collaboration with our global partners, have been to numerous natural disaster events worldwide, devoting resources to support response efforts and providing relief to people in need.
Environment
Maintaining the health and sustainability of communities and landscapes around the globe is important to us. This year, in celebration of our 75th anniversary, we’ve partnered with Tree-Nation, a leading non-profit dedicated to reforesting the world. They’re on a mission to plant 1 trillion trees by 2040, and Oregon Tool couldn’t be prouder to help them achieve their goal by funding the planting of 75,000 trees in honor of our anniversary. We’re also proud to announce this year that we have been recognized in Clackamas County as a Gold Partner in Sustainability. Clackamas County recognizes organizations who meet specific sustainability criteria. Through these actions, we are making a measurable positive impact on communities across the globe.
Education
At Oregon Tool, we are committed to providing professional development opportunities to students pursuing careers in a variety of areas including engineering, supply chain, finance, accounting, marketing, and manufacturing. One way Oregon Tool upholds this commitment is by partnering with the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) for over 40 years. In fact, we were a founding Corporate Member of the Cooperative in 1978. Students gain first-hand experience with product design, product manufacturing, project management, and product strategy. Additionally, we partner with other local universities to host students in a variety of educational fields to gain valuable work experience, discover professional strengths, and to provide an opportunity to network with our leadership team. We are proud to continue to support education programs and foster careers for the next generation.
Here at Oregon Tool, we make top-notch products that are highly engineered, and precision manufactured, but we also understand that maintaining our success for the next 75 years will not just be about what we do but how we do it.
~Contributed by Laura Sorg
Learn more about the t.r.e.e. Initiative here: https://treeinitiative.oregontool.com/