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Saturday, July 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
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New Millennium – A Work Culture of Family, Safety, and Fun

New Millennium – A Work Culture of Family, Safety, and Fun

Author: Rachel Dahl

Safety is paramount at New Millennium, the steel joint manufacturing plant located just west of Fallon, where 242 employees build steel joists that are used in the construction of school buildings and Walmart facilities across the country.  

At New Millennium, the bright yellow donkey shirt has become an icon and highly prized acquisition at the facility as a recognition when employees do something good. “We really want to create a culture, a courageous culture of celebrating safety, not focusing on the negative but the positive,” said Kelly Robins, manager of operations. “We have daily meetings or monthly safety meetings, and we give them for recognition, and they’ve become a sense of pride for everyone and when they earn one, they wear it out.” 

Robins said Kim Klenakis, safety coordinator, came to him with the idea in August to get pink donkey shirts for the entire staff to create breast cancer awareness during the month of October. 

“When it came to breast cancer, we thought everyone here deserved a donkey shirt to support a cause that hits home to a lot of employees here,” he said.  

Employees are also in a heated competition this month to see what team gets more steps in each day. The Walking Wolfpack, and The Force, are hot on the trail of four other teams (each of the departments) who take daily walks on their breaks and have steppers at their desks, all in the name of health and wellness. And building a culture around the work family.  

“We really push family life here, everything is family,” said Klenakis. Depending on what shift they work, sometimes employees spend more time with their work family than their biologic family.” She said they have several family members who all work at the company.  

Sponsored through the company health insurance provider, the step contest is just one of many employee health initiatives. “We as an organization want to make sure our employees are as healthy as they can be for the longevity of their careers,” said Robins. “If you’re a healthy employee you’re a better employee for us so the more active we can all be the better.” 

He says New Millennium has onboarded 70 new employees since January, in a job market where warm bodies are hard tome come by and employers struggle to find help.  

“The truth is we compensate very well,” said Robins. “There’s no mystery about it, if you want high-quality people, you pay very well.” A subsidiary of Steel Dynamics, the fourth largest steel company in the country. Originally built in 1997, the shop was designed to do 32,000 safe tons per year, and this year they will do nearly 70,000 safe tons.  

Running four shifts now, Robins said it comes down to efficiency. “Everyone gets rewarded here for safety, quality, and production. Money is why we all come to work but to be at work to make money and be valued is a big part of our focus.”  

New Millennium doesn’t advertise often for employees, preferring to recruit from the pool of friends and family of current staff. “Who do you want to be out here working with, who do you trust,” said Robins. 

 

 

 

 

 

  



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Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I knew Sam as a member of our church growing up. He always had a warm smile, a kind word, and a great sense of humor! He will be great missed!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:57 AMComment source: Obituary -- Samuel Bruce WickizerComment author: Mike HinzComment text: Great teacher, great coach, but even a better person!!! Rest in peace Mr. BeachComment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:53 AMComment source: Obituary -- Jack Victor Beach, Jr.Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I had Mrs Hedges for First Grade at Northside Elementary in 1969. I still, to this day, remember her as a wonderful teacher…one of my favorites!!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:29 AMComment source: Obituary - Nancy Marie Hedges C Comment author: Carl C. HagenComment text: What are MFNs and PBMs ?? ............................ From the editor: This is a very good question and we apologize for not catching that wasn't in there. We reached out to the writer/submitter and got this info back...hope it's helpful. PBM: Pharmacy Benefit Managers are pharmacies that are owned by insurance companies. (CVS is one.) They negotiate with drug makers to get reduced pricing for medications, but they historically have not passed along those savings to patients. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/pharmacy-benefit-managers-staff-report.pdf MFN: Most Favored Nation pricing is a policy that means a country agrees to offer the same trade concessions (like tariffs or price reductions) to all member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). When applied to pharmaceuticals, it could disrupt global access, deter innovation, and obscure the deeper systemic issues in American health care. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/05/22/the-global-risks-of-americas-most-favored-nation-drug-pricing-policy/Comment publication date: 6/23/25, 7:47 AMComment source: L E T T E R TO THE EDITOR
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