Janeczkos donate more than $1 million for plastics engineering scholarshipsJaneczkos donate more than $1 million for plastics engineering scholarships

Charllotte and Bob Janeczko, owners of custom injection molder i2tech, donated the money to their alma mater to fund at least four plastics engineering scholarships annually. The donation is especally significant for the University of Wisconsin-Stout, beneficiary of their good will, as it only began offering a Bachelor of Science plastics engineering program in fall 2008.

Both Janeczkos attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI) in the 1960s, and that is where they met. She graduated and now is a retired teacher and homemaker. His degree in technology education helped him through a career in the manufacturing and plastics industry, including executive turns at Morton Metalcraft and John Deere, serving as a professor of industrial technology at Western Illinois University and culminating in the acquisition of Innovative Injection Technologies (i2tech) in 2003.

The company, which has 150 employees, engineers plastic components and subassemblies in West Des Moines, IA. Bob Janeczko is the processor's CEO; one of the couple's four children, Joshua, is president and will take over when his father retires.

The school in Menomonie is one of a very few universities in the U.S. offering a four-year plastics program. Four students have been chosen for the first Janeczko scholarships beginning this fall. Jason McNulty, a senior, will receive $7500. Three incoming freshmen—Luke Buerkley, Andrew Sandberg, and Zachary Wenner—each will receive $2500. "I feel very honored and extremely thankful that the Janeczkos established such an amazing scholarship and even more so that they chose UW-Stout's plastics engineering program," said McNulty, who is interning this summer at medical device manufacturer American Medical Systems in Minnetonka, MN.
"Thanks to their generous donation, I am confident that the program and its future students will have tremendously bright futures."

Estate planning tools will ensure that the Janeczkos' initial donation of $200,000 will ultimately yield an endowment worth more than $750,000. For the next 20 years, until the endowment matures and becomes self-sustaining, the couple also pledged $15,000 a year to fund the annual student scholarships. "If you're successful, we believe you have an obligation to give back in a meaningful way," said Mr. Janeczko, adding, "We made our money in plastics, and we're glad to be able to help young people with a career in this great industry." Charllotte Janeczko added, "We wanted to leave a legacy. It's a positive way to be remembered."

David Williams, vice chancellor for University Advancement at the school, clearly appreciated the couple's support and said, "(The Janeczos have) provided UW-Stout with a great tool to recruit top-quality students into this new field of plastics engineering, which will ultimately yield great graduates well-suited for work in the plastics industry. We're very grateful for their generous gift."