Opportunities Inc. opens another plant in Oconomowoc

Opportunities Inc., a nonprofit corporation that specializes in helping people find employment, recently added a 15,000-square-foot plant in Oconomowoc to its operations.
The corporation, based in Fort Atkinson, helps about 2,000 people find work every year.
Barb LeDuc, president of the organization, said Opportunities Inc. helps people with physical or mental disabilities, the economically disadvantaged, at-risk youth, displaced workers and people with other barriers to find jobs or job skills.
The nonprofit corporation helps people through its two companies, Ol Packaging and Diversified Personnel Services.
Ol Packaging, which now has about 50 people working in the Oconomowoc site at 662 Armour Road, specializes in company outsourcing. The company subcontracts with about 80 different companies, working on specialty packaging that is not automated, promotional packaging and mailers and multi-packaging for club stores like Sam’s Club.
Ol Packaging is keeping its 80,000-square-foot facility in Fort Atkinson open as well, where it has about 350 workers. LeDuc said adding the second location helped to not only attract new workers, but also serve clients better.
"In outsourcing, we’re getting some short turn-arounds," she said. "We have to give the customer what they want in terms of turn-around, and this gives us the opportunity to do that with two locations."
Most of the 50 workers at Ol Packaging in Oconomowoc are new employees, LeDuc said.
Opportunities Inc., also will house Diversified Services in its Oconomowoc building. The firm was formerly located in an office on South Main Street in Oconomowoc before Opportunities Inc. bought the new facility.
Diversified specializes in helping people find temporary or permanent job placement in the industrial, clerical and technical fields.
"Diversified was already in Oconomowoc and was already working with companies for temporary or permanent services," she said. "Many of our customers are in that area for the subcontracting and training, so it was good to bring the two services together under one roof."
October 1, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI