Community Impact

Yarder Manufacturing: Committed to Strengthening Our Community

At Yarder Manufacturing, we believe that our success is rooted in the strength of our community. For nearly a century, we have taken pride in being more than just a local business—we are dedicated to making a meaningful impact in Toledo and the surrounding areas. From partnering with local schools to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, to our amazing Toledo Zoo and MetroParks, to numerous charities that are important to our employees, our goal is to contribute to the growth and vitality of our region.

Whether through educational initiatives, internships, or collaborations with local organizations, we are proud to play a role in shaping the future of our community, one project at a time.

Stranger Bots Move on to States!

With the help of some great local industry partners and a teacher who goes above and beyond for her students, this group of bright young McKinley STEMM Academy students has advanced on to the State competition in the FIRST LEGO LEAGUE challenge!

“After performing at the top level at the local event held at the Toledo Technology academy we knew these students were poised and ready to show the rest of the world what they were capable of. Trusting each other as a team, solving complex problems through pre-programmed solutions, and dedicating their free time to something that pushes their creativity will give these young individuals an edge as they further their educational and professional aspirations”

To learn more about this STEM based challenge please visit FIRST LEGO LEAGUE’s web page.

If you want to help support a local school like McKinley STEMM Academy, please contact Matt Yarder at 419-476-3933.

Yarder Works with Local Students

Over the past two years we have had the amazing opportunity to work with several local schools in order to share our industry knowledge and engage with our future workforce. The wonderful students of Marshall STEM Academy and McKinley STEM Academy right here in Toledo have brought a vibrancy and pride to our workforce that we often forget in our daily routines.

The energy these kids restore into our employees is invigorating. Watching one of our welders share their talent with a young boy or girl who has never seen an arc fired up is infectious. The smiles that appear when the helmets lift out of the way are wholeheartedly warming. Workforce development is a big issue facing our industry and we find simply sharing our story, technology, and needs with these kids shines a new light on a possible future career they may have never considered.

Manufacturing is not a dark and dirty and dangerous option anymore. Today, the manufacturing community is riddled with unique career opportunities, vast technologies, and mechanically savvy leaders. Engaging with these students bears immediate rewards with our staff, but plants seeds for a future workforce we will depend on for the next 4 generations at Yarder Mfg.

Against the Wind – “Metal”-ing in Art

Those who have never visited the city may not realize what an important role art has always played in the history of Toledo, Ohio and the surrounding areas.

The famous Toledo Art Museum first opened in 1912, for example, and is visited by countless people every year. The University of Toledo has art events and exhibitions on a regular basis. The list goes on and on.

Recently, Yarder Manufacturing had the unique opportunity to contribute to that rich history in nearby Perrysburg. They assisted in the creation of a new public art sculpture that has already been installed at Riverside Park. The collaboration with Downtown Perrysburg, Inc. (otherwise known as DPI) was an important one, and it was truly an experience that won’t soon be forgotten.
Yarder and DPI: The Perfect Pairing

The project itself began back in January of 2020 when the Perrysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau awarded DPI sponsorship funds for upcoming community summer events. Of course, that plan quickly changed just a few short months later when the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began to make its way across the world. Suddenly, in-person events of any kind were essentially impossible for the foreseeable future as people struggled with how to deal with the virus.

Yet despite this, Downtown Perrysburg, Inc. still wanted to use that money in a way that would support and empower the local community – and they turned to the team at Yarder (among others) to help.

In association with a variety of organizations including Graphite Design + Build, Riker Products, Sharp Finishing and the community of Perrysburg itself, everyone got to work on creating something truly memorable. Soon, a public art sculpture was born. It features an airplane design that is a clever reference to the wide range of “birds in flight” that inhabit Riverside Park. It also has a modern pop art twist, all to embrace the contemporary park that Riverside has become in recent years.

One of the most interesting elements of the art sculpture is the color design. The scheme was carefully thought out to resemble a sunrise in sun set as the colors of each piece take on a slightly different appearance based on what time of day it is. Each powder coated steel airplane weighs nearly 300 pounds and they’ve all been strategically positioned to represent 12 aircraft that are landing in the park before taking flight once again.

All told, it was an incredible opportunity for Yarder to give back to Perrysburg and the surrounding areas. The public art sculpture does not yet have a name, but DPI has indicated that they will solicit suggestions from the community on their various social media channels like Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #DPIinFlight.

To find out more information about Yarder’s recent collaboration with the city of Perrysburg on this wonderful public art sculpture, or to get answers to any other important questions you may have, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Yarder Manufacturing and McKinley STEM Academy: The Perfect Pairing

If you had to make a list of some of the most pressing issues facing our society today, access to a quality education for our children would undoubtedly be right at the top.

That, in essence, is what makes the McKinley STEM Academy so important. Short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM instills the next generation of students with not only a newfound appreciation for collaboration and communication, but also problem-solving skills, critical thinking and much, much more. It’s a way to help make sure that the youngest in our communities have the skills necessary to advance towards their eventual career goals – which is a major reason why the team at Yarder Manufacturing have pledged to help in any and all ways that they can.

Recently, Yarder Manufacturing partnered with McKinley STEM Academy on a decidedly unique project. As a part of the Toledo Public School District, McKinley’s vision is a straightforward one – they want to produce competitive college and career-ready graduates through a comprehensive curriculum that empowers students in all grade levels. They participate with a wide range of local schools throughout the area, including elementary schools like Arlington Elementary, Beverly Elementary and Burroughs Elementary, along with high schools like Rogers High School, Scott High School and the Aerospace & Natural Science Academy of Toledo, just to name a few.

Their commitment to a student-centered experience is virtually unprecedented and their technology-oriented approach to education has already seen a significant amount of success to this point. By developing a culture of high expectations and accountability-based management, they’re doing their part to help adequately prepare the next generation of the workforce in this country – and that is something that Yarder Manufacturing can get behind.

This particular project saw Yarder manufacture a series of 1′ by 1′ panels that the kids then painted on, creating their own innovative art pieces. Additionally, Yarder put together a wall structure that each panel will eventually be inserted into – almost mimicking an oversized game of the childhood classic “Connect 4.” It was a perfect opportunity to teach kids about the principles of engineering while still enabling them to have fun at the exact same time.

But what really makes this project special is that when the painting is done and the eventual art mural is constructed, it will travel around the greater Toledo area for all to see. It will be a perfect example of what can be accomplished through pure creativity when kids have access to the appropriate resources, and it is hoped that this will be just the first of many collaborations between the two organizations in the years to come.

If you’d like to find out more information about the recent collaboration between Yarder Manufacturing and the kids at McKinley STEM Academy, or if you’d just like to find out more about this traveling project that will soon travel around the greater Toledo area, please don’t delay – contact us today.

Yarder Manufacturing and the Legacy Business Park: What You Need to Know

At Yarder Manufacturing, we’ve always made it a point of pride to become more than just another sheet metal fabrication provider in Toledo, Ohio. For 96 years, our goal has to become a true pillar in our community in every sense of the term.
We live here. We work here. We raise our families here. We’re always trying to give back at every opportunity and recently, we had the opportunity to do precisely that in Monclova Township.
In June, Yarder and Mosser broke ground on the Legacy Business Park, adjacent to the Triad Business Park. Not only is the intention for this to one day become the new headquarters for our manufacturing operations – we also hope that it inspires development and job creation throughout the area as well.

A Prosperous Future for Our Community is Born From the Action of Today

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Riverfort Drive, just east of North Jerome Road. 18 acres of the site will be used for our aforementioned new headquarters – a 100,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will allow us to continue to dutifully serve our clients. The rest of the land will be used for new development – rest assured we have big, big plans for the years ahead.
Our leading collaborative partner throughout this time is Mosser. Like Yarder, they’re one of the oldest organizations of their type in the state of Ohio and have a deeply rooted history of quality partnerships. Their dedicated team will be leading the infrastructure, while doing their part to support our development efforts moving forward.
From the moment we opened our doors at Yarder Manufacturing until now, we’ve always worked to give opportunities to hardworking families and people whenever possible. Yes, this new development will spur success for us as an organization. But more importantly, it will create future opportunities for new businesses. It will lead to job creation throughout the area. It will also trigger a significant amount of investment – all net positives for the communities that we love so dearly.
One of the objectives of this project was to combine the resources of Yarder and Mosser to show everyone that nothing is impossible. We’re bringing our strengths, our resources, our expertise, and our insight together in a way that maximizes the opportunity for all involved.
Our innovative new facility will give Yarder the opportunity to meet increased customer demand, while also allowing us to bring on at least 26 new employees into the Yarder Manufacturing family. Rest assured that the June 5 event was only the beginning. There is a reason the new development is now called the Legacy Business Park – our own legacy is important and together, we want to prove that there’s no limit to the lengths that we’re willing to go to improve it in the future.
If you’d like to find out more information about the continued development of the Legacy Business Park, or if you’d like to learn about the myriad of different ways in which Yarder Manufacturing remains committed to not only our clients, but our community as a whole, please don’t delay – contact us today.