Employee Spotlight: Jennifer

Get to Know Jennifer, Senior International Sales Specialist at Rice Lake Weighing Systems

Jennifer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Soon after graduating, she started her first post-college job in human resources. From there, she worked in customer service for a food company and made her way up the ladder, gaining international responsibilities as time passed. When the food company moved its corporate headquarters to Minnesota, she decided to stay in Wisconsin with her family.

She then found an opening with Rice Lake Weighing Systems as a senior customer service representative. “I knew a few people who have worked here, and they had good things to say. So, I applied, and luckily it worked out. I’ve been here for a little over 11 years,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer is a senior international sales specialist—the front-line customer contact. As an international sales team member, she processes orders and quotes, handles sales leads and provides general customer support while working closely with the regional sales directors. “International sales is unique because I have global responsibilities. I work closely with Rice Lake India, Rice Lake Europe, Dini Argeo, our Dini Argeo guys in the UK and people in other parts of the world.”

Being able to travel in her current position is not only fun but has also shaped her professional journey. She’s been to Italy, Singapore and Thailand, among others. Her trip to Singapore was very memorable; she got to try duck feet and sea cucumber, “I will never forget that,” she says.

Throughout her time at Rice Lake, Jennifer says she has developed some lifelong friendships—not only are they colleagues at work but also friends outside of work. These friendships have helped her grow personally. Professionally, Jennifer now has more of a global mindset, such as learning about different cultures with global awareness.

“We have a customer in the Ukraine. When the war broke out, I knew the customer personally,” Jennifer says. Communicating via email, Jennifer would receive updates about the happenings in Ukraine. “It just makes it so much more personal and real.”

Jennifer explains that she enjoys working through the different challenges with Rice Lake’s culture, “even though we’re big, we still have that family culture. I enjoy that.” Growing globally is a big deal, and things are always evolving at Rice Lake—such as dimensioning. Recently, Jennifer exported one of Rice Lake’s iDimension? LTL dimensioners to an application in France. She hopes it will open the door to many more opportunities.

“I don’t know if I have great advice, but I can tell you that there is a lot to learn,” Jennifer explains. When she first started at Rice Lake, her experience—similar to most people’s experiences—with scales and weighing was at the doctor’s office or in the local supermarket's deli. “I had no idea that it was as huge as it is. There are scales everywhere, and they touch every facet of business.”

Jennifer goes on to explain that at Rice Lake, we always preach, “Take care of the customer, and everything else will take care of itself.” She wants to ensure her customers get what they want when they want it and how they want it.

In her free time, Jennifer is a frequent reader of all genres, from romantic comedies to thrillers and mysteries. She is also an avid sports fan, “Of course I love the [Green Bay] Packers, Go Pack!” She also keeps up-to-date with the Wisconsin Badgers college teams and the Wisconsin Brewers baseball team.

“As a community, people know that Rice Lake Weighing Systems exists, but the community doesn’t know exactly what we do and how we do it, like how global we really are. It’s pretty cool, and not many people know about what we do here. I’m proud of it! I work in international sales! People ask where I do it—at Rice Lake Weighing Systems, it’s real!” Jennifer concludes.