Transcript
Speaker: All right, and welcome back to the HFW shop talk podcast. This is episode 13. It's been a little while, which is my fault.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't really have any good excuse, but thanks for listening. Like I said, totally my fault. That's been a little while, but the good news is we are back. Today's going to be a little bit different of an episode, but an episode that we had been, when we first started the podcast, this was one of the goals. Today is just going to be kind of like an updates around the shop type podcast.
Speaker: where I walk through a few things going on around the company. This is just meant to keep everyone informed, give you guys a little bit of background and something you may not have had the specifics on while it was tough. It's also just meant to foster conversations. You hear something during this or it makes you think of something or have an idea or you want to learn more, please feel free to talk to me, feel free to talk to
Speaker: supervisor or Peter or my dad or anyone. This was one of the core reasons we started the podcast to begin with and I just want to encourage that. Alright, so with that being said, to dive into the first topic of discussion today, I am happy to announce that our new HFW tool program is now in place. And so
Speaker: This is something that really had been brought to my attention by a couple people. I think it was Fred Niedemeyer who first brought up the idea and then in talking Peter, Klaus, and Ben Niedemeyer also
Speaker: reiterated how important they thought this program was to have, especially with the number of new guys we have around the shop. We took that feedback and here it is, we have the program back in place. I guess I was told that we used to have a program back in the early 90s and Dana actually showed me some old sheets she had from when that was the case, but again, that's been a good 25 years.
Speaker: Needed some revamping and we're happy happy to say that it is now back and so I will post the formal details and there will be more information posted but the essence is
Speaker: with this program, it's a cash advance plan essentially. So it's spreading the upfront cost of the tools over 10 weeks. It came about again because of the number of new guys we'd have and especially younger guys coming straight out of school, whether it's high school or trade school or what have you. So especially when you're just starting out, right? You got a lot of new costs, right?
Speaker: trying to find an apartment or a house, maybe getting a car or tools. And so we wanted to make the burden of getting tools a little bit easier and make that an easier hill to climb, if you will. And so while it was really thought of first because we have a number of new guys and young guys in the shop, it is available to anyone. So I did want to say that. It doesn't matter if you're getting your first set of tools or you just need something that
Speaker: You know, you maybe don't want to buy all at once, totally understandable. So the way it works, you fill out a... You will first ask Tricia for the HFW tool program packet. You'll get a sheet to fill out information about the tools you wish to purchase.
Speaker: I'm only caveat is it just needs to be specific to your job right so. Don't go by a nail gun to roof a house with rights gotta be something related to your job HFW and then there is a minimum a hundred dollar purchase to use the program.
Speaker: So this was really meant to spread out larger expenses on tools. So especially when you're first starting out, you're getting your first tool set, your box and things like that. But if you need a screwdriver or something, going to Home Depot or wherever is probably a better option.
Speaker: So, to initiate this process, Tricia will have packets for the HFW tool program. So you'll get the ask her for one of those. In that packet will be a sheet where you fill out what you're looking for. You get your supervisor's approval. Again, the supervisor is just making sure it's applicable to the job. It's over $100.
Speaker: They'll fill all that part out. Sign the tool agreement. It's pretty straightforward. I wrote it just to make sure.
Speaker: We just wanted to be an easy understanding of the agreement between HFW and you when you purchase the tools. So it's not written in a super hard to understand legal format. It's just an easy agreement, one page that kind of explains all the different parameters around the program. And really it's pretty simple, pretty straightforward. Basically what the program is is just an interest free loan.
Speaker: And so you fill that out and then you give those two sheets. So again, just to clarify the sheet with all the information of what you want and then the tool agreement signed. And then you give those to your supervisor as well as an itemized list of the tools you wish to purchase.
Speaker: And so the easiest way to do this, what I would recommend is go on MSC, add all the tools you want to purchase to your cart, and then there's a feature on MSC where you can just email that cart directly to your supervisor. And so that's what I do that makes it easy for the supervisor to fill out the purchase rack, which they'll then send upstairs to get the tools purchased. So then HFW will purchase the tools, and then there will be an automatic payroll deduction for 10 weeks.
Speaker: After the 10 weeks, the tools are all yours. They're your property. You'll get a receipt to signify that the program has ended and the tools are all yours and yada, yada, yada. I'm excited about this. I think this will help. We've heard, gotten some feedback that something like this would be helpful.
Speaker: My hope is that it is and if you have questions or anything like that, let me know. I'm happy to help. And yeah, hopefully this helps, especially with the younger guys looking to upgrade and get a nice set of tools.
Speaker: All right. So up next, we have a couple, um, new hires and hiring, um, recruitment things to mention. So we have two guys, one Chuck, Chuck Parker just started as a mill machinist this week. Chuck spent several years at major tool and machine, uh, which is a very prominent shop in Indianapolis that I'm sure, um, some of you guys have familiar with or have heard about or whatnot.
Speaker: and so we're very happy to have Chuck seems to already be a great fit and You know great people like hammer would make HFW what it is We also are going to have Ronnie Johnson start in shipping this week. He's gonna be a shipping assistant and
Speaker: Ronnie's a career iron worker who retired but just looking for something to do and work that keeps his mind stimulated and so we are happy that Jacob and Brandon will have some help finally and we think Ronnie will do a nice job.
Speaker: On the recruiting front, we're still looking for manufacturing engineers and machinists. Jacob, Devon, and I were at UB this week speaking with potential engineering candidates. We spoke to a lot of kids, very impressed with the UB engineering program.
Speaker: We were inundated. I think the three of us spoke to 75 to 100 kids over the space of four hours. So a lot of talking, but talk to a lot of good kids. And like I said, we're still looking for manufacturing engineers and machining candidates.
Speaker: So if you know someone please refer them I know you hear this a lot from us so it's kind of the you know we're saying the same thing over again but we're still looking we've added some great people we still have additional positions available as I'm sure you all know.
Speaker: So our referral bonus policy is still very much in place and I just want to note that many of you guys who are top people have come from referrals. So referrals are a great way to find great people and we're very indebted to those of you that
Speaker: referred someone and those of you who have come referred and we'd like to continue that and fill the open positions we have. All right, so there's been a lot of focus on our new guys and recruitment to this point in the podcast, but it's time to give our veterans some love as well. And so we have some work anniversaries to share.
Speaker: First up, we're going to start from the newest to the most senior. So first up, we got Jacob Sandland. So Jacob's celebrating one year. Jacob started a couple months after I did and it's crazy to believe it's already been a year.
Speaker: Jacob, ray of positivity. I really enjoy having him on the team. I think most of you guys would agree with me there. Most of you, hopefully all of you. Jacob's just a great guy. He's always smiling and he's a good person to have in the shop. We're lucky to have him and looking forward to many more years ahead of us. So thank you, Jacob.
Speaker: Next up, we have Bobby and David Newman, who just celebrated their fourth anniversaries at HFW. A fun fact is that there are as many Newmans as there are Watsons at HFW. I was tricked, however, into believing all the Newmans were related. Turns out only three of the four are. So, the Watsons still have you beat in that regard.
Speaker: Thank you, though, guys. I really appreciate your hard work. I appreciate your contributions to HFW, both hard workers, and I appreciate it. So thanks, Bobby and David.
Speaker: Following the Newmans, we have the one and only Sam Cappi who just finished his fifth year at HFW. Sam's a hard worker and above that, he's a good guy. He's fun to work with and I always enjoy our conversation, Sam. So thank you, sir. And go buck eyes.
Speaker: Next up, we got Ben Niedemeyer. Ben's celebrating his 12th year at HFW. Ben started right out of high school when he was 18. So similar to a couple of the young guys we've got now. So guys, if you're listening to this, you can see where you can turn into with what a great guy Ben is. Ben's like a utility knife.
Speaker: He knows the facility inside and out. HFW is the company it is because of people like Ben, and I'm very grateful. So thanks, Ben. We're happy to have you and appreciate all your hard work.
Speaker: Next up, we got Mark Sherman. Mark is celebrating 13 years. So something that over the last year I've had the pleasure of experiencing is talking with our customers. And I mean, 99 % of our customers have very good things to say about HFW. And many of our customers, in fact, rave about the company and the service they get.
Speaker: And while there are many people, most people at HFW play a part in that, many customers also mention Sherm by name. And I think that's a great testament to the work he does and the relationships he's built. So I appreciate you, Mark, for keeping your customers happy. I enjoy working with you. And yeah, thank you.
Speaker: And then last but not least, and definitely not least, actually greatest as you'll see, is Dana Lukashevitz who just celebrated her 34th anniversary at HFW. So Dana is such a critical part of our team and her 34 years of dedication or something that I'm deeply appreciative of. Dana, just one of those people like we talked about at the picnic that
Speaker: You may not see the tangible elements of her work. She's not machining on a lathe every day or running a grinder or welding or anything like that, but the company relies on people like Dana. Obviously, she's the one that makes sure our paychecks go through every week. I know if you're anything like me, I'm very grateful for that. Dana, thank you so much. Thirty -four years is a long time and we really appreciate your dedication day in and day out.
Speaker: All right, so our second last topic today revolves around continuous improvement.
Speaker: So as we look to learn and to grow as a company, I just want to emphasize how we are trying to get better every day. And as we learn, as we try to get that little bit better every single day, I just have one ask for everyone. And that is, if you have an idea, if you have a suggestion, or even just a thought about how to make something better, please
Speaker: just say something. The best ideas typically come from the people who are actually doing the work. They don't come from the supervisor or the boss. I shouldn't say they don't come. They do occasionally, but when you're the person that is doing that work day in and day out,
Speaker: You are the one that knows how it works so intimately. You know the ins and outs of it. You know what could be better. You know what could be worse. You know when the process is working really well. You know when it's not working so well. And so I just always want to make sure that everyone feels free to suggest improvements or ideas to your supervisor, to management, or to me.
Speaker: I want to make each and every one of you, I want your job to be as easy and as stress free to you as I can. And so please, if you have ideas or you have an idea like, oh, we could do it better this way and this would save time or make it less strenuous, please bring it to your supervisor, bring it to me.
Speaker: I can't promise you that I'll be able to change anything immediately or even in some cases at all. But what I can promise you is that I will listen and I will do everything I can to make HFW the very best employer. I love this company and I want to do everything in my power to help you love it too.
Speaker: All right, and so last but not least, to pivot to a completely different topic, hoodies. Many of you have asked for them, and so I am trying now to gauge interest to see what we're gonna look at, or what we're looking at price and quantity wise.
Speaker: I put sign -up sheets by Tricia and then by the stairs from the office to the shop. I just want to say nothing's set in stone yet. If you put your name down, you're not held to it. This isn't a final order. But if you are interested in a Carhartt hoodie, please sign up with your size and the quantity you would order.
Speaker: What we would do is HFW would offer the hoodies at a 50 % discount to employees and that should come out to a price of roughly $25 to $30 per hoodie for anyone that's interested. So again, a sign up. I'm trying to see how many people are interested so I can figure out final costs and then I can go and get that approved.
Speaker: Push to get that approved and at that point I can I could get them ordered Again, I know this is something that a lot of people have had interest in and so if you are interested sign up That shows there's a there's a want for these Again car hard hoodies look pretty nice This is something I want to do. So if you are interested, please sign up and We'll we'll get that rolling
Speaker: And with that, that is everything I have. You're probably saying, oh, thank God. 20 minutes of Jack talking is probably 20, too many. But hey, I appreciate you listening. As always, if you guys have questions, concerns, or ideas, I am all ears. I really
Speaker: like talking with each and every person at this company. I learned so much every day. Um, and I, it's just an honor to work with just such great tradesmen and women. Um, I really appreciate you all. So thank you. Uh, if you want to be in the podcast, let me know. And with that, I will see you all next time. Thanks for listening and go bills, baby. Thanks.
