Growth earns RAM Tool county business award

Starting with only a lathe in a garage 45 years ago, Grafton’s family owned RAM Tool Inc. has become an industry leader in custom machining massive parts for the aerospace and oil and gas industries.

The company, which runs an 80,000-square-foot facility on Cheyenne Avenue equipped with 35 overhead cranes and 16 machining centers, was selected this month by Ozaukee Economic Development for a Business of the Year award.

President and co-owner Michelle Polum said she believes RAM was chosen because of the company’s planned fifth expansion — adding office space and a showroom — and continued growth since the Grafton facility’s construction in 1995.

Earlier in the year, Polum said, RAM received a supplier excellence award from one of its aerospace customers.

“That’s a lot of recognition for one year,” Polum said.

RAM primarily produces large custom machined parts such as fracking blocks and fluid cylinders for oil and gas companies, along with complex — and confidential — parts for aerospace companies.

Building large-scale parts requires large-scale equipment, such as RAM’s gantry that can hold 431,900 pounds, Polum said.

“You’re talking a very large machine,” she said.

RAM started as a part-time endeavor by Polum’s parents, Roy and Arlene Kannenberg, die casting in their garage. When Roy’s employer, Mercury Marine, moved from Cedarburg to Fond du Lac, they decided to go full-time, Polum said.

In 1979, RAM — named after Roy, Arlene, Michelle and her brother Michael — moved to a building behind what is now Otto’s Wine and Spirits on Washington Avenue.

In 1995, RAM constructed a 32,000-square-foot Grafton headquarters, where the company continued to expand its die cast operations.

“We still do die casting but nowhere near the volume as then,” Polum said. “For a time, we were Harley-Davidson’s number one source for tools.”

In 2006, RAM began custom machining parts, which has become the majority of its business, Polum said.

She said her parents officially retired from the company in 2014, but until her father passed away in 2022, he was always  checking in.

“He still had a pulse on the company, making sure the lights were on and everybody was actually working,” she said.

Her mother still stops in at the Grafton facility about every month, Polum said.

Polum’s husband, Dennis, is co-owner and her son Trevor and daughter Chelsea Bares, along with Chelsea’s husband Tyler, are now involved in the company.

Polum said she started at RAM by “cleaning bathrooms” before spending eight years in the banking industry. She returned to RAM by working in human resources, and has been with the company for 35 years.

RAM was chosen for the OED award in part for its community involvement. The company is a partner with the Grafton Manufacturing Alliance, the Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce and other organizations.

“RAM has been a part of Grafton’s community since 1995, but we’ve been a part of the Ozaukee County community the whole time,” Polum said.

She is particularity proud of the company’s involvement in the Ozaukee Youth Apprenticeship program, which connects county high-schoolers with part-time jobs at local companies.

The youth apprentices get to work in each department throughout their one or two-year internship, Polum said. Near the end of their internship, they can come back to their favorite department for additional experience and a potential job offer.

“They get a taste of everything,” Polum said, adding RAM also participates in job shadow programs and school tours.

In a building behind the Grafton facility, RAM has held classes in collaboration with OED, the Grafton Chamber and   Milwaukee Area Technical College on topics including leadership, social media marketing and manufacturing.

Because of RAM’s long support for apprenticeships, Polum said, the company was asked in 2017 to host then-Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch for the unveiling of a state apprenticeship initiative.

Grafton Chamber Director Elizabeth Mueller’s nomination letter commended RAM’s efforts to show employee appreciation, noting the company gave Memorial Day baskets filled with picnic items to employees and recently held an employee day at a Milwaukee Brewers game.

Polum is on the Grafton Chamber of Commerce Board.

OED will present RAM with the award for Large Business of the Year at its annual Economic Forecast Breakfast at the Ozaukee Pavilion at the county fairgrounds from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 26.

Tickets are $30 per person and $225 for a table of eight.

Hometown Heating Air Electric in Cedarburg and glaze Art & Ice Cream in Thiensville are also being honored with Business of the Year awards.