‘Homewinder’ program provides work-from-home opportunity

For the Tomahawk Leader

TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk Ambassadors, an arm of the Tomahawk Regional Chamber of Commerce, recently participated in a ribbon cutting at the new St. Croix Rods training center, 200 W. Mohawk Ave., Tomahawk.

Pictured, from left to right: Alex Ogurek, VP of Operations; Becky Jaecks (back); Diane Timms (front); Patti Panifil; Jason Bruner, VP Research & Development; Debbie Tomaszewski; Heather Smith; and Sherry Hulett. Photo courtesy of Sherry Hulett.

St. Croix Rods is a 75-year-old company based out of Park Falls, Wis. The company is the largest manufacturer of fishing rods domestically, producing over 800 different models for freshwater, saltwater and fly-fishing applications.

“The demand for their products continues to grow, challenging them to continuously explore ways to streamline their process to produce the highest quality products for anglers,” the Chamber said.

One recent challenge was the need for additional support in the guide winding process.

This operation is performed outside of the St. Croix Rods facility, with individuals that work from home winding line guides onto the rods with nylon thread. This is known as their “Homewinding” program, which makes for a need for additional support to meet demands.

Individuals that are interested in joining the program can begin a training platform in the facility. The Chamber said the training generally takes five to seven weeks to complete.

The Chamber said that once training is complete, the new Homewinder is given all the tools and equipment necessary to work from the comfort of their homes. At this point, they travel to the facility once a week to pick up orders and drop off work completed from the previous week.

“With the need for higher production, St. Croix needed to expand the Homewinder staff, and to do so, they needed to look at other surrounding communities,” the Chamber stated. “They chose the Tomahawk area due to the larger population and the influence of other larger populated communities nearby.”

The Chamber noted that previously, anyone interested in the Homewinder program had to base everything around the Park Falls factory, and for some, the travel was a showstopper.

Today, St. Croix has a training facility established in Tomahawk and potential winders can now train at that facility. In addition, orders needed and completed can be managed through the Tomahawk training center. From there, St. Croix has the ability to bring completed product back to the Park Falls site to complete the builds.

For more information on the Homewinder program, contact St. Croix Rods at 715-762-3226.