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There’s more than one way to attract the next generation of skilled employees to the shop floor. Tooling component manufacturer Rego-Fix recently expanded its Tenniken, Switzerland headquarters with a new 75,000 square-foot, three-floor addition to its existing facility, and with it, expanded the company’s appeal to a younger workforce.

While Rego-Fix wasn’t actively vying to attract a younger talent pool—one of its many long-term employees has been with the company for 40 years—the expansion’s advanced energy and natural resource-conserving features could be part of what has piqued their interest. For example, the facility includes a heating system that burns wood pellets as opposed to fossil fuels and a “green” or planted roof, which is covered with soil and growing sod for better insulation.

The company has also focused its attention on automating many of its processes to provide increased capacity and greater quality control. Automation and software is a key aspect of attracting younger employees to a manufacturing career, says Richard Weber, President and CEO.

The facility expansion and added automation will enable Rego-Fix to improve the production processes for its tooling products, including the new SecuRgrip toolholder. This toolholder uses a special threaded insert, or key, that eliminates the need to alter cutters to prevent pullout. It builds on the capability of the company’s PowRgrip mechanical holding system.