I will always be grateful...

Three and a half years ago I was offered an opportunity to learn about distribution and carbide and abrasive tooling by becoming a tool site manager for a distribution company out of Saginaw, Michigan.

The position allowed me the opportunity to learn all about automotive machining as I was the site-manager for a Tier 1 automotive machining company. Through my tenure I was afforded the opportunity to learn from the ground up. The tool setters, engineers, machining techs and vendors explained machining in great detail and let me get my hands dirty with them. I was given opportunities to be educated and travel to other locations to help guide other plants progress as well. Most recently, I have been sent on a temporary assignment (9 months) down to Columbus, Georgia. While the people are nice and I have been able to contribute, I miss home and the four seasons. I would like to return up north. I have worked many long and tedious days and have much to show with a Cost Per Unit reduction of 43% in just under 8 months.

I have taken ownership in the areas I have managed and have formed habits which have been beneficial to the plant and the bottom line for the customer. Anytime a company hires a distribution company I believe they do so for two reasons. First, to lower their costs. Distribution companies buy in large volume and can certainly get better pricing because of purchasing power. Management of materials is the other reason. I was a dedicated individual always looking out for the best product and managing the details so the customer didn't have to. That allows the customer to focus on what they are great at, which is producing the parts.

Each plant I have been to has appreciated the level of organization I bring to their team. They no longer have to guess at what items are on a tool, or if they have that item in stock and on their floor.  With less stock-outs and less next day air shipments the customer is assured they are well taken care of.

While all this is great, my time in Columbus, GA is coming to an abrupt end in just over six weeks. I have talked to my employer and inquired about my further employment with the company and at this time it is unsure. He understands that I am uncomfortable without having plans for my future. While the company is trying to find the best fit for me, the owner said he respects me too much to not let me explore other options. I believe that he truly means that as well. We have always been open and honest with each other. In my interview he stated that most site-managers last 2-3 years. The site-managers jobs are dictated by the contracts with the companies. I have lasted 3-1/2 years, I am one of the senior managers and know that I have achieved the goals set forth by the customer.

Above all I will always be thankful to Sally Thompson for convincing me to accept the opportunity to interview for this position. Fred Wasco for giving a girl that knew nothing about tooling a chance to learn and enjoy this industry. Jim Terry for hiring the girl who knew nothing about tooling and giving her so many opportunities to learn and grow in this industry. Corey Gillespie and Mike Riley for teaching me all about the AutoCrib system. Brandi Richards for being an amazing customer service manager that helped to walk me through so much of the computer systems. Richard Dzurka II for showing me the ropes. Patrick Most, Kimberly Hutchinson, and Alan Baxter for being incrediable customer service reps. Joe Mazik for helping me so much with AutoCrib stuff. Jack Goodenough for Friday shoutouts! Nick Ermis, Timothy Wood, Jeff Wilks, Joan Kelly, Paul Martin, Allen Green, Jacob Fulton, Abby Torrez, Scott McGhie, Mike Deonarine, Dave Weaver, Ryan Gleason, Annette Wilson and John Curtis for being the best people for me to shoot site-manager ideas off on. Tom Hagarty for knowing the right things to say to keep me motivated. Dave Derwin and his team for always shipping tools that were neat and organized. I always knew everything was always in the box! Karl White and the accounting team for always having the billing right. The rest of the P.F. Markey team for keeping me upbeat and working for the customer first! Tibor Kooy and Dennis Capuano for teaching me all I knew about tool setting. Dave Miller and Paul Laudico for teaching me the engineering intricacies. Lewis Blue for teaching me more about lean manufacturing. Douglas Smith for being honest and welcoming me to your team. Gene Zyjewski and Thomas Dupin for always working hard with me to ensure that the drive for lower Cost Per Unit was found. To Jeff Dachs and Ross Melton for ensuring I always kept the eye on the costs. Pete Stevens for helping me to improve the details and understand even more about the machining process. Chris Hall, Brian Matzan, Paul Nau, Josh Lenhart, Rick Meyer, Collen Cordova, Mark Brabon, Steve Bauers, Todd Schneider, Todd Brundage, Dan Habben, Dan LaFauce, Michael Csizmar, Steve Marcel, George Buhler, Chelsey Gumro, Amy Sell, Randy Milliron, Belinda Smith, Dayrl Schuler, Don Graham, Dave Purchiaroni, Tyler Martin, Jere Knisley, Jeff Benoit, Paul Bressette, Pat Dillion, Michael Crabtree, Michael Greif, Ted O'Donnell, Nathan Preiss, Steve Cotton, Derek DeLucca, Maureen Earle, Patrick Curry, Tom McKimmy, Gary Bruff, Shad Salzler, Jason Jefferies, Chris Presley, Steve Gerrard, Craig Krivoy, Tom Cirino, Charlie Novak, Samantha Novak, Erik Poler, Rodney Durham, Bryan Stusak, Mike Mantegna, Chris Fieger, Janet Olivieri, Andy Nolan, Ryan Nolan, Tyler Nolan, Matthew Hoyt, Mike Fagan, Bob Stoffel, Rich Lamphere, Chad Canipe, Mark Friend, and Kevin Began each one of you have taught me in some way more about abrasive and carbide tooling. What an amazing group of people I always knew had my back! John Mogelnicki made a tremendous impact on knowing the expectations. Shannon Boyd, Timothy Channels, Robert Davis, John Wright and Mike Anderson, you guys have been great to work with and thank each one of you for really working with me to help drop CPU! I appreciate each one of you. Greg Krueger, you have a tremendous team that have worked together to make these improvements. To all the operators in both plants, Thank you all, it is your hard work that makes good things happen! Jim Owens, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to come down to Columbus, GA and make a difference! Toni, Kelvin, Eric, Brandon and Jenn thanks for making Columbus, GA more like home! To all the rest I might have missed I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As you noticed, I would not have had any of the success without a huge team behind me. I will always be grateful for the experience I have had and I am looking forward to the new adventures that are ahead of me.