KDOC celebrates expanded factory inside Topeka Correctional Facility

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A manufacturing partnership with the Topeka Correctional Facility can now accept twice the participants.

Polo Custom Products opened its new facility Friday inside the Topeka Correctional Facility.

“This is exciting” Kent Lammers, Polo Custom Products CEO and Owner, said. “We’re moving forward, and this facility is going to be definitely one of the hubs and a blueprint for success.”

TCF residents work in the factory, building vocational skills while serving their time. Polo Custom Products and the Kansas Department of Corrections view the partnership as a commitment to restorative justice.

“This expansion represents a powerful step forward in our mission to provide meaningful, rehabilitative opportunities,” Kansas Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda said. “Partnerships such as Polo help change the culture of the facilities. They change it from one of persistent lack of activity and despair, to one of ability and hope.”

The new facility can hold 100 workers compared to the 50 previously employed.

“I really thought that we were going to make Polo shirts, but we make medical vests,” Resident Worker Maria Ponce said. “I’m a team captain in the cutting department, so I cut everything there is in this building from the Velcro’s to every single material that we use, I cut. Right now, my daughter is finishing college, and I’m able to help her finish with financial support.”