Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired
445 S. Curtis Road, West Allis
INDUSTRY: Contract manufacturing
EMPLOYEES: 250
IBVI.org
Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired has a shop floor similar to most others in Wisconsin aside from one unique component – the majority of the manufacturer’s employees are blind or visually impaired.
Based in West Allis, IBVI provides a variety of products and services to the U.S. government and military through a program called AbilityOne.
When a business becomes part of the AbilityOne program, the military and government are encouraged to buy that company’s products rather than on the open market. Businesses in this program must ensure that 75% of the labor hours that go into making a product come from people who are blind or visually impaired.
“In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need the AbilityOne program, but we don’t live in a perfect world,” said Jeff Young, HR representative, and one of IBVI’s blind employees. “A lot of companies have little to no knowledge about employing somebody with a disability, or they think it’s going to cost them a lot of money.”
When IBVI was founded in 1952, the company’s main business consisted of making brushes. While the company still makes brushes, the bulk of IBVI’s work now comes from making custom products for the government, including pens, ladders, tooling kits, clothing and more.
IBVI’s 100,000-square-foot headquarters in West Allis houses a manufacturing facility, distribution center and offices. Another 4,000-square-foot facility in Janesville is fully staffed by blind individuals.
“A lot of people who are blind and work here have said, even though they might not be able to join the military, they truly feel like they’re serving their country because of the mission-critical products we provide to our soldiers, so they, in turn, can better defend our homeland,” said CJ Lange, president and CEO of IBVI.
The organization also has two Menomonee Falls facilities, located along Garwin Mace Drive and Fountain Boulevard. One is used to manufacture Army tooling kits and the other is used for IBVI’s custom products distribution. That segment of the business makes custom swag for all branches of the military to use in their recruitment efforts – items like t-shirts, hats and lanyards.
“Military recruiting is down, so our custom supplies business is going crazy, because they’re really trying to get their numbers up,” said Pat Crain, chief operating officer at IBVI.
Along with its manufacturing sites, IBVI operates 17 base supply centers across the country, which carry military items.
The custom supplies segment isn’t the only part of IBVI’s business seeing growth. Last month, IBVI secured a $10.3 million contract from the Air Force to provide civil engineer supply store services. The organization will provide contractor services at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
As IBVI continues to grow, the company’s mission remains the same: employ as many blind or visually impaired individuals as possible.
“Over the years, I’ve heard many reasons people say they can’t hire people who are blind,” said Lange. “When people say that to me, I try to correct them. The technology they need is not humongous. It’s not very expensive.”
Continuing advancements in technology have made it easier than ever for manufacturers to integrate blind and visually impaired individuals into their workforce, according to Young. He pointed to helpful devices like magnifiers, electronic braille displays and screen readers.
“For mid-sized and large companies, it’s really something to at least have a screen reader or screen magnifier,” said Young. “It’s not going to cost them a lot of cash.”
In the coming years, IBVI plans to expand into a fifth facility although the location has not yet been finalized. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company had been looking to open a facility in Janesville.
“In a publicly traded business, you’re asked how your stock price is doing. Here, it’s how many more blind hours of work did you log compared to last year? It’s a unique metric,” said Crain. “Your goal is to add more hours and add more jobs.”
