WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Representative Sean Duffy was in Wausau Tuesday evening to speak at the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce Manufacturing Excellence Awards.
Duffy was the keynote speaker for the event and received the 2018 Spirit of Enterprise Award from the US Chamber Of Commerce for supporting pro-growth policies in Washington. As the keynote speaker, Duffy enjoyed being able to talk directly to area manufacturers. “It’s nice to be able to talk directly to folks who spend so much of their time investing and innovating in creating their businesses. And talk about what we’re doing in Washington and how that impacts their ability to be successful in their businesses.”
During his time in office, Duffy has seen manufacturing in Central Wisconsin grow to a size where there aren’t enough workers to fill available positions. “Manufacturing is exploding to the point where we at first didn’t have enough skilled laborers. And now we’ve seen our manufacturers say we need to bring in unskilled laborers and train them in the skill sets that they need in our facility.”
Duffy wants to make sure that in Washington the government sets rules but gets out of the way to allow businesses to focus on running their business. “I believe in rules and I believe in regulations and I believe in taxes. But making sure we streamline them and make them effective. And it’s our work in Washington that says hey we have certain rules to live by and compete by. But I, for the most part, want to get out of your way and let you focus on running your business and expanding it, growing it, and competing at hiring and providing great lives for the people who live in this community.”
Several local manufacturers were recognized at the awards dinner on Tuesday evening. Nominated for the small to medium manufacturer award were Colby Metal Inc, Gamber-Johnson LLC, Gordon Aluminum Industries Inc, and Northwest Tool & Manufacturing Company Inc. Nominated of the large manufacturer category was Domtar Paper Co LLC and Wausau Tile Inc.
Gamber-Johnson LLC won the small to medium manufacturer award. While Domtar Paper Co LLC won the large manufacturer award.
