ABOUT US

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Our History

  

Over ten years ago a group of volunteers started what was then called Trinity Corrections. This was to be a business and a mission. Their business was to provide quality service to their customers; their mission was to provide inmates with an opportunity to grow. They opened up a small machine shop within the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary. The inmates were eager to work for Trinity Corrections as they were taught how to weld and provide our customers with excellent products. Soon Trinity Corrections changed the name of the growing company to Metal Craft Industries. The company now employs over 40 inmates and has numerous customers all over the Midwest.

 

 

Our Mission . . .  

 

Prison is not only a setting for punishment, but also for rehabilitation and education, which makes a successful reentry to society possible. The people involved at Metal Craft Industries work to equip each inmate with job skills, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work as a community.

 

We employ and educate inmates in metal fabrication and specialized assembly. They are taught work attitudes and skills that are demanded and applicable in the outside world. The inmates are paid competitive wages and are given raises for work well done.

 

The inmates are not the only beneficiaries of Metal Craft Industries’ efforts. Their families receive money from the wages the inmates earn, which can prevent them from depending on government welfare programs. There is also opportunity for reconciliation with the victim's families. Communities in which the inmates choose to live following their release can benefit from the newfound productivity and commitment. Taxpayers also bare less of the burden of inmate's costs, since the inmates are able to work and pay for a portion of their prison sentence.

 

Their wages provide the inmate's family with approximately 40% of their earnings, while the remainder is distributed in the following manner: after paying taxes, 30% is given to the state to pay for their prison stay, 6% is given to the Victim Assistance Fund, and 20% goes into an account that they will receive upon release.

   

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