ATC named one of the nation’s top workplaces

American Transmission Co. ranks as one of the nation’s top workplaces, having been chosen as one of the People’s Picks: 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production by Great Place to Work®’s Great Rated!^TM. This honor comes after ATC last fall was named one of the top 25 best workplaces in the United States on FORTUNE magazine’s 2014 Best Small and Medium Workplaces list.

The 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production is a “best of the best” ranking. Of the 600 companies surveyed by Great Place to Work®, 44 were in the Manufacturing and Production category. ATC and the other 14 winning companies were selected based on the evaluations of nearly 34,000 employees from companies across the country who were surveyed to get their assessment of their workplaces and employers. Employers were evaluated through Great Place to Work®’s Trust Index^© survey, and the companies with the highest levels of trust, camaraderie and pride among their employees are the ones that rank on this list.

“We are honored to again be named among the best places to work in the country,” said ATC President and CEO John Procario. “We strive to be the employer of choice for talented and dedicated people."

The full category in which ATC participated was Manufacturing and Production/Energy Distribution, as it was the established category that came closest to encompassing ATC’s unique business model as a transmission-only utility. Pewaukee, Wis.-based ATC, with 650 employees, was formed in 2001 as the first multi-state, transmission-only utility in the country.

FORTUNE Magazine published the complete list of People’s Picks: 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production. Click here for the entire list and here for ATC’s Great Rated!^TM profile.

Power above and below

Safety classes raise awareness for those working near power lines

American Transmission Co. owns and operates a high-voltage electric transmission system made up of overhead and underground power lines and facilities.

To ensure worker safety, anyone doing excavation or construction needs to take the proper steps to locate power lines and plan ahead to complete the work at a safe distance from the lines.

ATC practices and promotes safety. Diggers Hotline provides excavator safety meetings to educate contractors, excavators, municipal workers and utility workers about safe work practices near power lines. ATC partners with Diggers Hotline at these meetings to promote awareness, provide information and answer questions about working safely near our facilities. Meetings started earlier this month and run through April 2015.

Click here to learn more about the program.

ATC has some communities planning for spring planting

There may be ice and snow outside, but it’s not too early to think about planting – and many communities are getting some help from ATC. Through our Community Planting Program, we awarded 33 communities a total of $55,000 to plant trees and other vegetation on public property outside of the transmission line right-of-way.

To qualify, these communities committed to complying with ATC’s maintenance standards for all current and future planting plans and urban forestry activities near high-voltage electric transmission lines. The recipients received funding ranging from $500 to $4,000 for planting projects in communities where ATC facilities exist.

The 2014 Community Planting Program funding recipients include the following Wisconsin communities:

Algoma	Lisbon	Rib Mountain
Amherst	Manitowoc	Rhinelander
Bayside	Menasha	Spencer
Bellevue	Mequon	Stevens Point
Bristol	Merrill	Waterford
Brooklyn	Oakdale	Waukesha
Cambridge	Oconto	Waupaca
Fond du Lac	Ozaukee County	Wescott
Fort Atkinson	Pittsville	Wilson
Gilman	Prairie du Chien	Winnebago County
Kenosha County	Princeton	Wisconsin Rapids

ATC’s Community Planting Program is part of our Grow Smart initiative – a program that promotes planting only low-growing, native vegetation near transmission line rights-of-way to help ensure public safety and the reliability of the electric system.
 

Need some more spring planting inspiration? Check out this video from the Milwaukee Co. Zoo’s Party for the Planet, where a Milwaukee-area Boy Scout troop helped replace invasive species with dozens of trees.