A Manitowoc company celebrated 80 years of service over the weekend.
Crafts Inc. held an employee party to recognize eight decades of commercial and industrial work, with a focus on roofing.
Crafts Inc. began in 1946, when five craftsmen, led by Leonard “Spike” Kraft, provided roofing, electrical, heating, and more.
The company was eventually taken over by Kraft’s son-in-law, Bob Weinert, in 1967, and would become one of Wisconsin’s first users of in-house computers and get its first crane.
The Weinert family-owned legacy continued when Bob’s son Steve joined Crafts, eventually taking the helm as sole owner and leading the company with strong performance and a critically important transition to Employee Ownership.
Craft Inc. current President Chris Milmoe says that legacy of family-ownership remains a big part of the company as we transitioned to being employee owned.
Craft Inc. President Chris Milmoe says technology remains a big part of the company.
“That’s able to help us produce and be a little bit faster with what we need to do,” he explained. “So, the transition happened about 15 years ago with that, from a lot of just hand tools and this and that to computerized equipment, things that help our team.”
Crafts Inc. also celebrated being an employee-owned company for the last five years.
Milmoe says being employee-owned takes accountability to the next level.
“They see the benefit of being employee-owned and having the employee ownership,” he stated. “So, the accountability side, the pride, the pride in the work that they are doing. The pride in helping their team members become better team members.”
He also told employees that owning it brings a different level to the job they do.
He told the employee-owned workers, “Every decision you guys are making and every relationship we’re able to build. They’re because of the families that are part of the journey that ownership represents more than just a business model. It represents opportunity, stability, and, really, pride in the workplace.
In the rain yesterday, Crafts Inc. set up events for kids, including a bounce house and birdhouse-making.
Employees also got food catered by Broken Plate in Manitowoc and from Linda Loves Cheesecake in Two Rivers.
Milmoe also held a raffle before congratulating employees who reached milestones in their time at Crafts having worked between five and 35 years.
“I’ll just leave it with the first 80 years built this company, and what we get to with the next 80 will define it,” he stated. “Thank you, everybody.”
Crafts Incorporated currently has 80 employees who’ve worked across multiple states.
More information can be found at craftsroofing.com.
