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packaging, collating, boxing and polybagging, which can accommodate people with different skill levels. "Our goal is that people are able to self-determine the type of vocational support they want to have, and so it all becomes very individualized," says Margaret Winn, executive director of Lakeside Packaging Plus, which has locations in Oshkosh and Neenah, and also employs a casual workforce to help meet orders when necessary. Lakeside was J.J. Keller's 2006 Vendor of the Year, Winn says. "Customers would generally come to us when they have increased production demands, limited space and/or limited employees, or higher priorities that are demanding their attention," Winn says. "And that allows us to do the meticulous detail on things that can't be automated." Rob Senner, production planner at Independent Printing in De Pere, has been working with Lakeside Packaging for 10 years. "There are many reasons – Industrial Communications and Control Solutions • networking • connectivity • control • security • power supplies and protection • support and supplies • supply chain solutions reliability is one, quality is another – and for me and the type of work that I manage, the quality must be 100 percent correct. I know there's usually 100 percent inspection of their work in their facility," Senner says. The turnaround time and pricing also keep Independent connected with Lakeside. "We as a company never try to whittle down our vendors as far as price goes, but we have a price point that we need to meet," Senner says. "Typically they're always able to meet that price point. And by doing that they're able to keep their employees working, which is job one." Community work centers like Lakeside receive a mix of local, state and federal funding to help employ people with disabilities, some of whom will move on to employment elsewhere. For-profit companies that choose to hire people with disabilities receive some financial incentives such as tax relief based on a worker's wages, and sometimes training and support from agencies such as the DVR. CREDIBLE PEOPLE CREDIBLE SOLUTIONS INCREDIBLE RESULTS! Business Intelligence Cloud Solutions Custom Software Intranets & Extranets IT Business Consulting Mobile Apps Websites 800-622-3353 APPLETON ProSolutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEW Curative Rehabilitation, but shifted to forprofit status in 2011 because it had experienced strong growth on its business side. The company is still governed by a volunteer board, so profits still aid NEW Curative programs, Gerarden says. The company now employs a mix of people with disabilities and without, about half and half. "If you look at the business model that most organizations like us were founded under, our main goal is to provide training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities, so we're very good at creating that environment, creating opportunities for people to be very successful," Gerarden says. "We're able to take that workforce and get an awful lot out of them because of our experience in working with different populations and people of different functional levels." Gerarden challenges other companies to at least [continued] » Email Marketing skylinetechnologies.com 920-437-1360 www.anixter.com w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m S e p t e m b e r 2 013 • Insight | 39