Driving Our Economy Forward: Chatt State and Valmont Industries

JASPER, Tenn. (WDEF) — Last month, Valmont Industries welcomed 24 students into its trade program in Jasper.

Some of them will pair on the job training with classroom instruction at Chattanooga State.

All that should add up to a good job waiting for them after graduation.

Let’s see how Valmont Industries and Chatt State are Driving our Economy Forward.

“Valmont was established in 1946. We manufactured center pivot irrigation systems. Since then, we’ve merged into utility product engineer, support structures, traffic lighting, poles, communication, any kind of infrastructure you see,” said Valmont Industries Operations Manager Benny Sutej.

“This is the world’s largest single brake press,” said Valmont Bridge Supervisor Paul Gott. “It’s 58 foot, made by Ersvicken. The beauty of this machine is that we can do utility poles as well as our bridge girders that we build in this building.”

“We employ 280 people, soon to be 70 more by April next year,” Sutej added. “We pay a great wage. Most welders make close to six figures a year. We offer overtime opportunities. It’s a great way to grow their families and grow their income.”

“Valmont partners with Chattanooga State it’s our Registered Opportunity sponsor, provides relevant training, instruction. Obviously, great things happen when collaborating with community partners to advance the workforce. Prior to this year’s current 24 students, we’ve had 37 go through the program and more than a dozen are still employed at Valmont,” Sutej added.

“This skilled trade pays really good,” said welder-fitter Elijah Smith. “The average income is around $20 to $30 an hour for a trade like this. So, you can make pretty good money and you can make even more than that.”

“It’s one of the reasons why we decided to come to work for Valmont as well. Because we knew we were getting married soon and we want to start a family eventually. And with the incomes we were making at our previous jobs, it just wouldn’t be enough to get us where we want to be. We knew it was a good opportunity to come to Valmont so close to home. It’s perfect. It was like a daylight and dark option,” said Seth and Sarah Brown, employees of Valmont.

“Yes, we need young blood in here. Kids coming up has a desire to learn, desire to get better, desire to make money. That’s what our job is. It is a hard job, but it is a very rewarding job,” said weld trainer Donavon Whited.

“Valmont has helped me grow my family personally,” Sutej said. “Valmont’s given me everything I have. Like I said, going back to Belmont, being a great company and placing our core values first, our passion, integrity, continuous improvement and delivering results, they really push that here and stress the importance of those values.”