Grafton firm works to leave its stamp on community

Kapco Metal Stamping in Grafton is moving employees’ work stations and even entire departments to make room for its annual Christmas toy drive this Saturday.

Last year, the event brought in approximately 26,000 donated items, and the goal for this year is to have 30,000. 

“In general, I think it’s part of what we should be doing as leaders of business to give back and try to energize people, galvanize people and bring people in need with those who have and connect the dots,” President Jim Kacmarcik said. 

“I think we’re pretty blessed as leaders and owners in our own right, so being able to give back and make a difference is part of our business. We have a whole department for that.”

The Kids2Kids Christmas Celebration started in 2006 and Saturday, Dec. 14, marks the 14th annual toy drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The goal is to have children and their families donate toys to other children in need during the holidays. After the event, the toys will be distributed to 35 charities in southeastern Wisconsin.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest toy drive in the region,” Vice President of Community Relations Neil Willenson said. “Our metric is not just the toy count, it’s how many kids volunteered. It’s in the thousands. The idea is children donating a toy to another child.”

Last year, two children from Mequon arrived to drop off toys with their mother, who was caring for her infant. The two older children were so impressed with event they volunteered to be elves and collect other donations the rest of the day, while the mother went home with the baby, Willenson said.

When it isn’t busy keeping the Christmas spirit alive, the company at 1000 Badger Cir. produces metal components for customers needing stamping, fabrication and welding work. The company has two other manufacturing sites in Grafton and one in Osceola.

“It’s all components from all-terrain vehicles to snowmobiles to some military vehicles and industrial equipment,” Willenson said. 

Kacmarcik’s parents Tom Sr. and Josephine founded the company in 1972. 

“His mother literally ran the first machine,” Willenson said. 

Willenson said it’s unique for a metal stamping business of Kapco’s size to have a department of four employees dedicated to philanthropic causes. 

“Our philosophy at Kapco is we view philanthropy as a real privilege and opportunity to reach people,” Willenson said. “It’s a company goal to reach 1 million people a year. We’re not there yet, but that’s our trajectory.”

The company organizes or supports a number of charitable efforts, which helps retain and attract employees, Willenson said.

“It gives them a sense of pride. Our employees never ask ‘What’s in it for us or Kapco?’” Willenson said. “Instead of shaping metal, we’re trying to shape lives for our employees and the people we give back to.”

In addition to the Kids2Kids toy drive, the company supports a number of other charitable efforts such as Camp Hometown Heroes, which Willenson helped found before he joined Kapco nine years ago.

The camp provides a week of respite during the summer for children and siblings of fallen military members and first responders. The camp helps 200 youngsters from 35 states annually.

“They primarily lost a father, and we’ve had a few kids who lost a mother or sibling. The children could have lost a family member through any manner — combat, accidents, illness and a growing number of suicides,” Willenson said. “It’s so tragic.”

Kacmarcik and Willenson founded Camp Reunite in 2018 to bring together children and their mothers who are incarcerated at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution. The six-day camp focuses on teaching coping skills, conflict resolution and resiliency. 

The highlight of the camp for the children, Willenson said, is two extended visits with their mother for five to six hours each.

“If you didn’t see the barbed wire, you wouldn’t think you were in a prison. They are singing and dancing. The correction officers sit down and have lunch and dinner with us,” Willenson said. “The impetus for Camp Reunite is that these children need to be with other kids who understand what they’re going through. The quality of the visits is what makes the program unique.”

Every few years, the company holds the Kapco Charitable Challenge competition, which provides college and high school groups $1,000. The competition challenges the students to leverage money to start their own charitable cause. 

“Some of the groups have founded charities and civic organizations. Every single one of them turned that thousand into tens of thousands. It’s very staff intensive, so we do that effort every few years,” Willenson said, noting the competition has generated more than $100,000 over the years.

In 2008, the company sponsored a home-remodeling project in Grafton for a single mother diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. The family of triplets had two children diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and couldn’t afford a new house that was accessible.

“It was an impossible situation. We took the house down to the studs and Jim Kacmarcik said he wanted 1,000 people to pound a nail,” Willenson said. “A cornerstone of Kapco’s community efforts and philanthropy is volunteerism. We always want more hands on deck.”