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Senator Amy Klobuchar continued her "Made In America" tour in Winona Friday.
The tour is a conscious effort to promote a shift towards manufacturing jobs, and Friday's visit focused on that shift, link by link.
The Peerless Chains Company is stronger than ever. It turns 80 tons of steel into 40 miles of chain every day, exports to 23 countries, and employs more than 300 people at this facility in Winona.
"Hello, sorry to interrupt your work," said Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Those are some of the reasons Senator Amy Klobuchar included Peerless Chains on her "Made in America" tour.
"Manufacturing is hot right now and we actually don't have enough people to fill the jobs in Minnesota," she said.
But why don't we have enough people to fill the jobs?
"You know we need to start stressing there's nothing wrong with a 2 year degree," said Peerless Chain CEO Tom Wynn.
Tom Wynn, the President and CEO of Peerless Chains, says for years schools have put too much emphasis on degrees that don't make anything. It's a sentiment that was echoed at Governor Mark's
Dayton's Jobs Tour in Winona in late August. And at the Occupy Wall Street and other similar protests throughout the country.
"A few years back we just got too reliant on churning money," said Klobuchar. "We thought that was going to get us to where we wanted to be. Well, it's not enough."
Klobuchar says we clearly have the ability to create and fill manufacturing jobs or companies like Peerless wouldn't be adding jobs right now.
"Since September we've hired 17, yes," explained Wynn. "And we're currently looking for a tool and dye, a tool and dye maker right now."
And what's true for Peerless may be true for the rest of the country. We're only as strong as our weakest link.
In an effort to help generate more tool and dye workers, Peerless Chain will soon be offering its own tool and dye apprenticeship program.