ESCO Community Involvement

ESCO employees recently participated in a community garden cleanup event, as part of a United Way campaign. ESCO volunteers worldwide donate thousands of hours annually to non-profit community organizations and charitable causes.

As a global organization, ESCO touches the lives of thousands of people each day. Since 1913, ESCO employees have been making a positive and enriching impact through community involvement, charitable giving, social responsibility and ethical corporate citizenship. In addition, ESCO gives generously to diverse organizations and provides employees recognition and reward for their charitable activities.

ESCO specifically directs corporate contributions among charitable areas that employees themselves have said are most important – including children, education, hunger, homelessness and disaster relief. In 2007, ESCO will distribute more than a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships and corporate contributions.

ESCO Corporation proudly supports organizations that benefit the communities in which the company operates. Through employee volunteerism and direct corporate giving, ESCO shares its success by helping sustain educational institutions and non-profit organizations that specifically address education, hunger, homelessness and children at risk or in transition – causes that ESCO employees have identified as areas of primary focus for charitable giving.

ESCO Corporation dollar-matches employee and retiree time volunteered for educational institutions and non-profit organizations that benefit the communities in which the company operates. The “Digging In to Help Our Communities” program ensures that financial assistance goes to organizations and causes ESCO employees personally support with their time and effort.

On September 22, 2006, Rod Staben provided three CAL students with a plant tour to see first-hand what production is like and to get a better understanding of what the expectations are for shop workers. Rod is ESCO Shop Human Relations Manager and has been closely involved in the development and ongoing success of the CAL charter school, now in its 3rd year of operation. Pictured above, from left to right: Rod Staben, Joe Bredahl (age 17, interested in becoming a machinist or mechanic), Johnny Chavez (age 17, interested in welding) and Ben Chase (age 17, interested in machining and C&C).

Learning is hands-on. A student has access to state-of-the-art technology. For every successfully completed course students receive college credit and also earn credits that count toward graduation from their home high school. Teachers at CAL come from local high schools and from the career field students may want to pursue.

ESCO Corporation has been a significant sponsor of the Center, and thanks to a generous contribution from ESCO, CAL now has an on-site foundry, where students can make castings and learn more about continuous improvement and lean manufacturing principles.

Says CAL student Joe Bredahl: “The knowledge that I learned from my junior year has already helped me in the real world. Through CAL, I was accepted into the Tech Prep Internship Program at Boeing Portland. By pinpointing the students’ different interests and their passion to learn, CAL opens up students’ minds to things they never thought they could do. In doing so, new and better ideas are being thought up every day.” Please visit the website at www.thecenterforadvancedlearning.org.