CSI Shops

CSI Shops

We operate 15 shops in 5 institutions where we employ more than 500 incarcerated men and women who log in over 800,000 hours of work per year. 

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CSI Headquarters
CSI Headquarters

The CSI headquarters, located at 800 Pioneers Boulevard in Lincoln, employees about 35 people involved in administration, sales and marketing, accounting, purchasing, quality control, manufacturing and warehouse work. In addition, about 30 more employees are working in the facilities where we have various shops as managers or supervisiors. At CSI headquarters, an average of 25 incarcerated men and women work in the inventory, assembly, delivery, business and sales areas.

    

Our offices are open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Our showroom is available for customers to see many of our products.

   

Our warehouse keeps stock of some of the products we make and is the destination of the products made in various shops before they are loaded on CSI trucks for customer delivery. 

  

Incarcerated men work in the warehouse to assemble certain products. 

  

Additional buildings are used to store materials, including rolls of aluminum used to make the Nebraska license plates..

  

All CSI employees are mindful of our mission to use work as a tool to prepare incarcerated men and women for successful reentry back into our communities. We do provide meaningful work experience by building quality products, providing services and creating value for our external customers. 

RTC - Print Shop
RTC - Print Shop

The print shop is a full service shop. We have design capabilities, wide format printing along with wide format laminating. We do award engraving via rotary or laser. We also do toner cartridge re-manufacturing.  We have digital press capabilities for full color printing along with offset printing. On the average the print shop employs 25 incarcerated men. See more information here.

              

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RTC - Wood Shop
RTC - Wood Shop

About 15 incarcerated men work in the wood shop producing new furniture including many custom designed pieces. This shop is also involved in manufacturing the flexstation work surfaces using kits and fabricating the various surfaces to custom fit everything. 

  

  

  

  

NCCW - Sewing Shop
NCCW - Sewing Shop

It employs about 20 incarcerated women. They make a variety of clothing including shirts, pants, sheets and pillowcases. Thousands of these products are made every year and are used primarily in the NDCS facilities. They also assemble filing cabinets. In late January 2018, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts stopped by the Sewing Shop during his visit at NCCW. Pictured below is Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and Shop Supervisor Deb Prince visiting with one of the shop employees.

    

    

NSP - Chair/Wood Shop
NSP - Chair/Wood Shop

The chair/wood shop employs an average of 30 incarcerated men who take pride in the quality and craftsmanship of the products. They manufacture new wood furnishings such as desks and bookcases, custom design pieces such as cabinets and circulation desks, and they assemble various types of chairs. This shop is also involved heavily in refurbishing and refinishing various wood products including old chairs and church pews. 

    

    

    

    

NSP - License Plate Shop
NSP - License Plate Shop

We manufacture all State of Nebraska issued license plates for the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. The shop employs as many as 14 incarcerated men during new license plate issue and as few as 8 during other times. They also make award plates issued by DCS for staff longevity. In addition, the shop makes commemorative plates for special occasions and especially for various visiting groups and individuals (dignitaries and others). A limited amount of signs and "stickers" for shop and facility use but restricted to the size of a passenger license plate - 12" x 6". Watch a video to learn how we make license plates.

     

    

    

    

NSP - Sign Shop
NSP - Sign Shop

An average of 12 incarcerated men manufacture the signs for the Nebraska Department of Transportation. These are the signs we all observe and follow as we travel throughout the state! The graphics are produced first by the shop staff. The actual signs are then produced based on the graphics. This shop also produces a small number of custom signs for the Nebraska Game and Parks, Natural Resources Districts and other agencies. Being in the shop one feels like they are in a big manufacturing company floor. The group of incarcerated men who work here not only are professional at their job, but they also exhibit pride in their work for CSI and the Nebraska Department of Transportation. This is a BIG deal for them according to the shop supervisor. Watch a video on how we mass produce signs and a separate video on how we make custom signs.

    

  

NSP - Metal Shop
NSP - Metal Shop

Incarcerated men manufacture and fabricate metal furnishings, including tables and grills, used mostly by the Nebraska Game and Parks Department. In addition some custom items are manufactured for use inside various NDCS facilities or per customer request based on a custom design. Welding and painting are two major phases in the production of the furnishings from this shop. The Metal Shop employees an average of 18 incarcerated men who are well skilled to carry through a rather complex process of manufacturing metal based products. See some of their products here.

    

    

NSP - Chemical Shop
NSP - Chemical Shop

This shop employs an average of 8 incarcerated men. It produces janitorial supplies used by all NDCS facilities among others.

    

 

NSP - Braille Shop
NSP - Braille Shop

In 1985 Cornhusker State Industries, the industries division of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, took over a small, but promising Braille project begun by the Nebraska State Penitentiary Five years earlier. In the twenty-five years since, Prose and Cons Braille has grown dramatically and now employs 30-35 men.

Prose and Cons Braille performs essential tasks including Braille Transcribing, Tactile Graphics Design, Braille Writer Repair, Large Print Enlargement, and Thermoform Production. Prose and Cons Braille has enabled a number of workers to achieve formal Braille certifications through the Library of Congress. We have people certified in the following areas: Music, Nemeth, NBA Formats Course, Proofreading, and Literary Braille, as well as others who are currently working toward their Nemeth and Literary Braille certifications.

Prose and Cons Braille is proud to offer quality transcription work with tactile diagrams for math, geography, science, and any other diagram that can be feasibly recreated in a tactile format.

Our goal is to provide quality educational materials for school systems nationwide and continued expansion of our operation in order to better serve the blind and visually-impaired community. Our Braille/Large Print textbooks are listed on the American Printing House database LOUIS. Prose and Cons Braille Catalogs are also available upon request or may be downloaded from the CSI website. We look forward to serving your needs.

See more information including the catalog of our products.

  

  

  

  

NSP - Laundry Facility
NSP - Laundry Facility

A full service laundry facility processing 3 million pounds (average) annually, employing an average of 65 incarcerated men. This facility uses two 675 lb washers, one 135 lb washer and two 95 lb washer. There are five 200 lb dryers, one very large ironing/folding machine, three professional hand irons and one steam press. The service includes 3 sewing machines for repairs and alterations and a special sewing machine for towel edging repairs. If needed, hand folding is also available. CSI provides laundry services to County Hospitals, Nebraska Regional Centers, Nebraska Correctional Facilities, Nebraska Military Facilities and the University of Nebraska. We process bedding and bath linens, personal clothing and dinning linens in addition to a floor mat leasing service. We provide sewing repair services as well as ironing services for large piece linens and personal clothing and uniforms. All laundry processed is sorted, counted, stacked, hung or shrink wrapped and in covered, plastic transport carts provided by CSI. We x-ray the transport carts and deliver the laundry back to the customer at no cost. Our laundry service meets or exceeds all state statutes, CDC laundry requirements and industry standards for hygiene and infection control. See more about the CSI laundry program here.

    

    

OCC - Sewing Shop
OCC - Sewing Shop

This shop employs as many as 45 incarcerated men. It is used to produce a variety of clothing used inside the NDCS facilities. In addition, this shop is used for reupholstering chairs and refurbishing/reconditioning furniture for the University of Nebraska among other customers. This shop also produces inlaid mats for basketball courts and other athletic facilities for many schools throughout the state.

  

    

    

    

 

OCC - Wood Shop
OCC - Wood Shop

This is a fully equipped wood shop with all necessary machinery to produce quality wood furnishings including many custom designed pieces. It produces all varieties of wood furnishings such as desks, bookcases, cabinets and many custom design products. At any given day, the wood shop employs 26 incarcerated men.  

  

  

TSCI - Wood Shop
TSCI - Wood Shop

This is the largest wood shop used primarily to manufacture new wood furnishings including many custom design pieces. This is a state-of-the-art facility and employs about 35 incarcerated men.  

    

    

    

    

    

    

                 

    

   

TSCI - Laundry Facility
TSCI - Laundry Facility

This facility employs as many as 75 incarcerated men, making it one of the largest shops we operate. Laundry arrives and goes through an x-ray machine. This facility uses two 900 lb, two 675 lb and two 135 lb washers. There are four 400 lb dryers, one very large ironing/folding machine, three professional hand irons and one steam press. The service includes sewing machines for repairs and alterations and a special sewing machine for towel edging repairs. If needed, hand folding is also available. CSI provides laundry services to County Hospitals, Nebraska Regional Centers, Nebraska Correctional Facilities, Nebraska Military Facilities and the University of Nebraska. Laundry arrives and goes through an x-ray machine. We process bedding and bath linens, personal clothing and dinning linens in addition to a floor mat leasing service. We provide sewing repair services as well as ironing services for large piece linens and personal clothing and uniforms. All laundry processed is sorted, counted, stacked, hung or shrink wrapped and in covered, plastic transport carts provided by CSI. We x-ray the transport carts and deliver the laundry back to the customer at no cost. Our laundry service meets or exceeds all state statutes, CDC laundry requirements and industry standards for hygiene and infection control. Read more about our Laundry Service.