Neil Tremaglio, Waterbury Swiss

For Neil Tremaglio, MASC is not only paving the way to success for its students, but for the Waterbury manufacturing community as a whole. It also has proved to be the solution to a problem he currently faces: filling the increasing number of open positions at his company. As more work and projects come in for Waterbury Swiss Automatics, the need for smart, well-trained and hard working machine operators increases. 

Neil first heard about MASC through word-of-mouth among the members of the manufacturing community in Waterbury. He immediately became involved with the program, serving on its Board of Directors and even employing a former student.

Cody Titus, a MASC graduate, began an apprenticeship with Waterbury Swiss that transformed into a full-time position after only a few months. Since then, he has been running the CNC machine on the night shift with one other person. Neil comments that he has progressed very well.   

Neil believes that employees who go through the MASC program stand out. Often times, people that apply to open positions at Waterbury Swiss come in with very little experience, but MASC prepares their students for a job with hands-on training. 

He found that Cody was ready to be put to work on the floor his first day — he was aware of inspection equipment, the different types of machinery and required very little supervision and training. Neil maintains that this is usually not the case with people who haven’t gone through that type of program.

As it is a busy time in the industry with small shops growing exponentially, the need for staff increases throughout the manufacturing community— especially as the older generation begins to retire. “The MASC program gives a new generation of young people an incentive to learn the industry and get involved,” Neil said. “It is helping spearhead this [initiative].”