Our socially responsible business model uses a voluntary Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) to employ incarcerated individuals to help manufacture our products. Located on the campus of the Turney Center Industrial Complex in Only, Tennessee, our operations provide voluntary work opportunities for inmates as well as civilians.
This job is a golden opportunity. I haven’t just learned real-world job skills; I have the chance to apply them every day.
– Chris, Turney Center Industrial Complex Employee.
The PIECP program has a proven track record of rehabilitation, reducing recidivism rates from 50% to less than 10%. As part of the voluntary program, inmates earn a prevailing civilian wage, which is then apportioned by the State of Tennessee to help individuals pay victims’ restitution, family and child support and room and board, as well as contribute to personal savings.
Inmates employed by our program also acquire vital work skills and experience, taking pride in their craftsmanship and the products they create. After their release, inmates who have worked in our program have critical work skills and experience, and are better equipped to transition back into family life, society and work. Nationally, most inmates leaving prison have a 50% chance of returning. For individuals employed in a program like ours, that recidivism rate drops to 7%.
We never hesitate to discuss the fact that our plant is in a correctional facility. In fact, it is the part of our business of which I am the most proud. From an enterprise perspective, our program doesn’t just create increasingly skilled workers. The quality, performance and beauty of our products reflect the genuine pride and attention to detail invested in every board.
– Allie Finkell
The American OEM Wood Floors program is the eighth and most complex PIECP program established by Don Finkell and the American OEM team. We started manufacturing flooring at Anderson within the South Carolina prison system in 1996, and five years later started the scraping process. Our Turney facility includes a high-volume production line, a small-batch line and handscraping, hand-finishing processes that would be difficult to achieve in a highly automated environment.