Posted on May 26, 2015

 

With a promise to customers to ship orders placed by 5 p.m. the same day, employees at Magneto Power’s wholesale warehouse and distribution facility in Anoka are in continual, synchronized motion as they fill and ship orders for manufacturers, servicing dealers, and retailers throughout North America.

At the end of a long line of other packagers, Brittany Alt-Willard accepts a bin of assorted products that have been “picked” from Magneto’s stock of 40,000 outdoor power equipment and replacement parts, scans each piece to verify them against the original order, and packages it all up for shipping.

Brittany is steadfast in her work, paying careful attention to the details of every order. She and her co-workers are meticulous in their work and are proud of Magneto’s 99.5% accuracy shipping rate.

Brittany originally came to Magneto as part of a temporary Rise work team for a specific short-term project.  Operations Manager Craig Thompson said she was a stand-out from day one and asked her to stay on working after the original project was completed.

Sue Featherly provided follow-up support services through Rise’s Community-Based Training and Employment (CBTE) program, meeting with her twice a month for the past four years.

Her work attitude, focus, and reliability were what prompted Craig to hire Brittany in May.

“Brittany has done an outstanding job in every process in our warehouse,” Craig said. “She has always been eager to learn new tasks, and with positive feedback, has really grown in all aspects of the job. She is a joy to have here and fits in well with everyone.”

“I love everything about my job,” said Brittany. “It’s really busy, but I have nice co-workers and we help each other out. I was very excited to get hired as a Magneto employee and am proud of my work.”

“Brittany has continued to expand her skills and self-confidence in the past three years,” said Sue. “She has made a lot of changes in her life because of this job and I know how much it means to her to now be a Magneto employee. I am so proud of her.”

Prior to being hired by Magneto, Sue helped Brittany with benefits planning so that she would still be eligible for Social Security benefits, enabling her to live semi-independently with some supports. Craig also submitted a letter to the Social Security Administration in support.

Brittany enjoys living in her own apartment in Coon Rapids and takes the bus to work. One of her co-workers, though, is happy to pick her up on rainy or cold days.

“I’m tired at the end of the day from being so busy, but it’s a good tired,” Brittany admitted. “I hope to work here at Magneto for a long time.”

 

This article appears in the June 2015 issue of the Rise Reporter.