Generac is one of largest (if not the largest) manufacturers of generators in the world. They are headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, about 30 miles from my home. They also have 3 other manufacturing facilities in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Earlier this week, I attended a job fair at their corporate headquarters. FWIW, here are some of my observations:

Business is, of course, booming. They want/need to hire hundreds of additional employees, at all skill levels. My guess is that they received thousands of applications, judging from the crowds that showed up. I applied for a programming position (they're an RPG shop--my RPG skills are rusty, but they're willing to train). They'll get back to me soon...

Everyone was given a tour of their factory. Very impressive. Most, if not all, of their employees stopped working once the tours began, and were available to answer questions. I asked the following: How much of the increase in business do you attribute to Y2K? The answer was that they have doubled their business each year for the last two years, and that Y2K awareness really didn't hit until 4th quarter of '98. Since then, orders have skyrocketed (doubled in one quarter). I followed up that question with: What's your opinion about the power grid and Y2K? Couldn't help myself. Well, no definitive answer. I didn't expect one, but thought maybe he'd have some "inside info". He then asked my opinion. I said I was cautiously optimistic, but preparing for outages nonetheless, etc. Several people around us were listening intently...

All in all, I was very impressed with the staff there, as well as their ambitious expansion plans. Whether I work for them or not, I know they will try to meet the demands placed on them. Most of their recent orders are for large, industrial generators (20,000 KW+, I think I heard). The amount of work that goes into making them is truly astounding...

This isn't meant to be a "plug" for their product. I have decided not to purchase any kind of generator. FWIW, if you do consider buying their product, keep in mind that they are made by Cheeseheads, and act accordingly...

Steve, proud to be a Cheesehead

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), February 20, 1999

Answers

Steve, Thanks.

Very interesting report.

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 21, 1999.