Stinger opens doors for Job Service tour
Twenty-six guests saw first-hand on Tuesday the inner workings of Stinger Welding, the local bridge-span fabricator.
The lunchtime tour, in which guests enjoyed a sub-sandwich meal in the Stinger break room, lasted just more than 90 minutes.
After a brief introduction by Job Service employee Kari Martell, Stinger Vice President of Operations Steve Patrick candidly fielded questions about the facility’s operations and even answered inquiries concerning the company’s difficulties with its cash flow.
“We made some mistakes, and we bounced some checks to our people,” Patrick said. “The problem mostly was transferring money, paying for steel up-front.
“Our cash flow was out of sync. Yes, it’s embarrassing. No ifs, ands or buts about it.”
Patrick stopped short of saying the company is past those difficulties, but said, “We’ve made it right.”
Patrick’s answers seemed to appease guests, which included Lincoln County Presiding Commissioner Marianne Roose, Troy Commissioner Ron Downey, Kootenai Development Council Director Paul Rumelhart, Development Council board members and Chamber Director Shanda Jennings.
Patrick expressed the inability to fill skilled welding jobs here that require years of experience, as each welded joint must meet at least state X-ray and ultrasound inspections and some must pass federal guidelines.
“Our real problem we’re finding is that we have to train a lot more people than we thought,” Patrick said.
“Guys came out of welding school and thought they were going to be paid top scale. That just doesn’t happen.”