Roland Temme and Diane Temme Stinton

If you’ve seen the stacked letters outside the Lincoln Children’s Zoo or the floral dome at Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens, you’ve seen the work of TMCO.

TMCO, a Lincoln-based contract manufacturing company, has left physical marks around the city, but leaders also have built a legacy of supporting its people. Founded by University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumnus Roland Temme and now headed by his daughter and fellow alumna, current TMCO CEO Diane Temme Stinton, the business has maintained strong roots in the community.

“There’s a lot of local pride in what we do,” Temme Stinton said. “For us it creates a lot of significance that it’s not just about making stuff, it’s about building a community.”

Temme, originally from Wayne, Nebraska, returned to Nebraska following his time in the Army and several years working with engineering companies around the country. He started TMCO in 1974 after earning his degree in business administration in 1969. Temme was inducted into the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame in 2020.

TMCO started with a single machine acquired from an acquaintance of Temme’s. It grew from Temme’s one-man shop and now does large-volume and custom contract manufacturing work for more than 500 clients and any time. Temme said his studies at Nebraska trained him to recognize opportunities wherever they might arise.

“Opportunity comes in the most unusual of ways,” Temme said. “It’s people who can see the opportunity and take advantage of it…I got started in business quite by accident, but the university prepared me for this open view of education in economics, marketing and statistics and even in some elective courses…I would have never dreamed it would end up like this.”

Temme Stinton, 2026 Lincoln Inspire Woman of the Year, followed to the university, but build a background in the humanities, earning a degree in German in 2007. She participated in a study abroad program in Berlin as a student and said her education opened international doors for herself and for the company and heavily influences how she approaches problem-solving.

“I feel like it opened a world of opportunity to me,” Temme Stinton said. “Everything I learned in the arts and humanities in terms of cultural intelligence and history and sociology and ethics, all of these things are so applicable in my day-to-day business career.”

A few years ago, Temme Stinton was invited by the State of Nebraska to participate in a forum in Germany, where she was the only American on a panel about German companies doing business in America.

“To be able to represent American manufacturing on an international stage with large German companies, it was a very singular experience,” she said. “I would not have been prepared to do it if not for my educational background.”

Temme said in the decades since TMCO launched, the industry has become increasingly global, and they are well prepared to work in that landscape. Machines now are made in not only the U.S., but also in Japan, Germany, Italy and more, and TMCO has been able to build those international connections as well while remaining a leader in the industry.

“When you start your business, whatever you do, you have to have that burning desire to be the best at whatever you do,” Temme said. “That’s what separates you from everybody else. And that’s the story of this company in a nutshell…We have the best machines, and we have the best people using the machines, and we have the best customers, and we have a belief in ourselves and a desire to be better and improve every day.”

As a leader in the Lincoln Manufacturing Council, TMCO collaborates with around 20 local businesses to provide workforce development opportunities. Temme Stinton said coming together has been the best way to build up the manufacturing industry in Lincoln.

“We’re facing a workforce shortage, and in order to really come up with a solution to solve the problem going forward, it made sense to pool resources and work together as an industry for a long-term solution,” she said. “It’s not something one person or one entity can solve. We can be a catalyst but we need the partners to come together so we can move mountains.”

Temme Stinton said one of the ways they try to support their own employees is by helping those who are immigrants or refugees — more than 30% of their employees — transition to a new country and navigate American systems. For example, the company assisted people connect with providers who would care for them through a language barrier. International visitors have consulted the company about how they serve immigrant and refugee employees, Temme Stinton said.

“When you’re just dropped into this system, it can be very disorienting,” she said. “It’s advocacy for the employee when they don’t have the means to advocate for themselves, whether it’s in a housing situation or in a healthcare-related situation.”

The company also supports employees with children through an on-site early childhood education center that opened November 2025. Further, outside of their own walls, TMCO has worked with youth organizations like Lincoln Lighthouse, CEDARS Youth Services, Junior Achievement and Teammates to educate area youth and about careers in manufacturing.

“In terms of the affordability and accessibility, I wanted to do something and try to find a solution for our employees so the kids have the best possible start in their education,” Temme Stinton said.

Community collaborations promote a better workplace for employees, benefiting them as individuals as well as the not only the company but the industry, and Temme Stinton is excited to watch the continued growth of TMCO and all its partners.

“Manufacturing in the state is possibly the biggest opportunity we have to grow,” Temme Stinton said. “We have the best technology in the region, and combine that with the best workforce in the world. In some ways we’re a well-kept secret and we can’t afford to be a secret anymore. And everyone should know world class companies are right here in Nebraska.”