Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 18: Climbing the Ladder with Peter Claus
31 Plays9 months ago
Today we have a fantastic conversation with our Plant Manager, Peter.
A 30 year veteran at HFW, Peter has seen a lot and has worked his way up from starting as a manual machinist to running the whole shop.
We are fortunate to have a strong leader like Peter in our business. Enjoy this episode!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Peter Claus
00:00:09
jwatson99
All right. And welcome back to the shop talk podcast. This is episode 17. Another, another hiatus, but we're back. And today we got a good one. We have Peter Claus, our plant manager. Peter, I can't believe it's taken 17 episodes to get you on him, but thanks for doing it. I know. Right. yeah I've heard about this. Hey, you're pretty, you're pretty important piece here. So we should have probably had you number one or two, but I'm glad we finally, finally got you in. Definitely. um So I guess for a little bit of as a little bit of a background, we'll do part one today, which is kind of like the the, I guess the personal side
Peter's Role as Plant Manager
00:00:49
jwatson99
of you. And then I thought part two, which we'll do maybe next month or in September, we'll do maybe some of the more your initiatives as a as a plant manager and some of the things that you're focused on and want to share with everyone. um Sounds good.
00:01:04
jwatson99
But today I thought it might be nice to start with the background and and who you are and have people learn a little bit more about you. um I think most people here probably know you use the guy that's furiously running around all the time having like a trail of five people after you. um So I guess to start there, you're the your HFW's plan manager.
Career Journey at HFW
00:01:26
jwatson99
Yep. You've been in that role. How many years? It's funny. I don't keep track of dates. It's hilarious. I would say plant managers. It's got to be two, three years now. Yeah. I was, you know, supervisors for quite a few years. Yeah. You know, CNC supervisor for 15 years at least. And, you know, I've been here 30. Yeah. I worked on the shop floor machining for 15 years at least.
00:01:51
jwatson99
Yeah, and we'll get into that. um So at ah at a high level now, what what is the role of plant manager? What do you do every day um to keep things rolling around here? Yeah, it's really something. and when you you know I guess the title defines it, Plant Manager. It is multifaceted. you know It's hilarious, I think, because I could be doing anything from addressing a broken door you know to you know a machine maintenance issue.
00:02:24
jwatson99
And then there's human relations, you know, somebody's having a problem or dog diet or something, you know, and it's really something. ah And like we discussed earlier, there's what, 55 people in this company. And I figured it out. I probably come across. at least 40 to 45 people a day I interact with yeah one way or another, whether it's just in conversation or working on a job. You know, I work upstairs in the office, I'm doing jobs with you guys, quoting. And so it's really something. ah It's definitely keeps me busy. Yeah, I mean, that's, I never thought of it in that way. But you're probably the person that interacts with the most people on a day to day basis. For sure. Yep.
Optimizing Work Processes
00:03:05
jwatson99
And yeah you you logged at one time. How how many miles you are you getting in?
00:03:09
jwatson99
i've I've been trying to cut that down, you know, because I did I've done 11 hour, 11 miles in a day. ah I could easily average eight miles a day in the shop. Wow. I know Fred Niedemar when he was working on both ends of the shop at one time. He said he did 17 one day. So he's got the record. Well, you know, we're here nine to 10 hours a day. And I'm ah literally out on the floor, a good portion of that. But some of it, though, I did that because I had obviously foot problems after a while, right? So just out of pure necessity, I realized I got a limit, you know.
00:03:42
jwatson99
Do I really need to do this? or Do I really need to go down to that department at this moment? yeah So ah some of it maybe is unnecessary walking and it's just out of, you know, you know you're just constantly running here, running there. so Yeah, and then that's, I think, the interesting point, too. um You get into your habits and your routines. um But I think you and and us as a business are starting to think more about, um like you just said, do we really need to do it this way? Or is there a better way I can do it? Can I optimize? Especially with with you, where you you have so many responsibilities. like it's It's almost not humanly possible to do that in a day. So you kind of to really prioritize and focus on the core couple of things.
00:04:22
jwatson99
Oh definitely and that the getting to the truly being able to delegate and that is something you know it's funny you could see it in some of the other supervisors or other people that you know it's funny we're a small company and but I always say the tendency of you know we just can get stuff done very quickly because we all can do a lot of these things. But the trouble is that as I find myself doing some oddball job where I should be giving that to somebody else. In fact, I had the job like that today, I started yesterday, it was a weird little fix on a bunch of parts. Here I am yesterday afternoon, I'm starting to machine these on a small lathe, right? And I realized like, wait a second. I saw you i got a perfect guy for this. He's great, you know, brought him over there, and he finished the job for me. So, you know, that's something that I really try to work on. And so
00:05:08
jwatson99
Yeah, it's always a work in progress. I think it's just human nature to want to, yeah you're like, Oh, I can do it. I can just now real quick. Yes, I'll do it real quick. yeah it's in And then it never ends up being real quick. Yep.
Early Fascination with Mechanics
00:05:20
jwatson99
All right. Well, let's kind of shift gears a little bit and take it back to um your upbringing as a kid. and You told me some stories, but I'd like to be interested to hear a little bit more about you growing up and you know the kind of things you were doing. I know you told me you spent a lot of time around a workbench and fixing things and making things and tearing things apart. ah Can you talk a little bit about that? Oh, definitely. It's funny. I've always been drawn to that. and i remember I always tell the story that I was about seven, eight years old. i Me and this kid, we just took apart my bicycle.
00:05:51
jwatson99
you took it all every piece apart and remember this old guy down the street uh forgot his name came down and showed me how to take out the master link and the chain you know and so we basically disassembled this bike never got back together i'm sure it's just but you know just took it upon what you know started doing that and um And yes, I did. I grew up in a garage with my dad, basically. And I always tell that story, too, because ah he was he made this nice wooden tackle box, you know, custom made himself. He was a pretty good woodworker. And so here I am watching him, you know. So I make this. I was about eight years old.
00:06:26
jwatson99
and uh so I made this little box kind of mimicking what he was doing you know what he showed me how you know saw he always kind of showed me things and I always thought I was his apprentice you know and uh but little really he was just watching me all the time all right I have two sisters they were with my mom so he was basically babysitting and he did show me stuff definitely you know he showed me oh we did have a lathe in the garage I was running a lathe at nine years old just kind of he showed me how to do so you know and it was just an environment I was in all the time and I've but i've always liked it so I think that's obviously a big part of it and I think that's what it's tough for people that don't have any of that exposure at that age when they try to get into this type of field where you know manufacturing or whatever so um you know you see that with ah people that don't have the experience with stuff so yeah well it seems like a lot of the guys that are
00:07:19
jwatson99
your age or older have that background that you just talked about. They grew up in in the shop or you know in Fred's case grew up on the farm fixing everything. um And then there's kind of that gap. It seems like a lot of the kids, ah especially now don't, but it does seem like there's a ah like kids are starting to get interested in this stuff again. It seems like you know like we we've talked about some of the stuff that's retro is becoming popular. and Do you think that you can see that happening where that becomes more popular? totally and you know it's really it's refreshing because you know it's funny how we can get down on you know social media or you know youtube and people watching these silly videos but there's some really young people out there doing some creative things manufacturing and my boys you know i have a 16 year old and 11 year old
00:08:04
jwatson99
and Pete many years ago he even started like they were watching these guys make these uh axes out of that uh plastic you know that epoxy resins and stuff like that and they're making these molds and here Pete's like dad I want to do this so it was fascinating and believe it or not he spends a lot of time down the bench oh he's always made like wooden tools and stuff or wooden hatchets and stuff just messing around with toy things and stuff like that And ah I've said it before that he's 16, and he's got some better bench skills than some adults I see in this field. So I think that you know it is. you know People could say, like, ah, you know kids don't want to do anything nowadays. But it's definitely it's out there.
00:08:44
jwatson99
Well, it's what you make it to, like your point about social media, I think is, is really good. Like, there is so much out there now that you just have access to it, your fingertips. Yeah. And yeah, you can obviously there are the negative sides of social media, you can spend all day doing it or, you know, there's a lot of stuff that's just garbage. But there's also a lot of, you know, these really cool like niches that ah people, you know, whether it's woodworking or mechanics or construction or anything, you have this the groups of like-minded people and you can learn so much from it. Yeah, yeah it's totally cool. So you talked about Pete, he's 16, so he's he's on his way to um you know thinking about what comes after high school. I'm curious like when you were in his shoes, going back to you know when you're 16, 17, 18, getting ready to graduate,
00:09:34
jwatson99
What were you thinking about and where was your head at? It seems like you kind of knew like um the general path, but what what was what was that stage of your life like and how did you get start to get into manufacturing? Yeah, it's really interesting.
Inspiration and Apprenticeship in Machining
00:09:46
jwatson99
it's um I lived in Illinois at the time. I'm born in Buffalo, but ah we moved out there for a little while for my dad's job. And anyways, I remember taking in a sophomore year, I took machine shop. That was an elective. You know, people took that like ceramics. Oh, well, just, you know, I had to take something and.
00:10:08
jwatson99
And so it sophomore year, junior year, I took it. I remember senior year. you know I did enjoy that kind of stuff. We did all kinds of stuff with that welding and we had a little foundry. and But I remember specifically, and at that time, my dad wanted me to go into engineering, right? And the plan was go to community college, you know, kind of this is just talking with a counselor. But you know, I wasn't like, yeah, that's what I want to do. But my dad, he always did see that I kind of had that back ability, you know, as far as design and stuff like that. But anyways, I remember it was the last semester in high school, I was working on a lathe.
00:10:46
jwatson99
And I literally looked at it and go, you know what? I could do this for a living. It's just I had that conscious thought. And it was just really weird. And around that exact same time, my shop teacher said there's an apprenticeship program at Triton College in Chicago. And you have to take an entrance exam if you get accepted. and It's an accelerated program. They're looking for the best people they could find. And I was like, I think I'll do that, you know? And sure enough, took the test. Pass with flying colors, except English. The machines don't need English. and or You have to score above a certain rate for all these, or it wouldn't be accepted in. And so they brought me in for the evaluation. They're like, you did great on everything, except English is below the level, you know? Do you think maybe you could just say, oh, yeah, yeah, and they let me in?
00:11:36
jwatson99
And it was a great program. It was one of those, you know, you went to school full-time, a company picked you up part-time. And like I was telling you the other day that, so literally I went to school full-time, worked part-time, and then even through Christmas break and spring break, I worked with the company full-time. So I'm telling you, by the end of the year, it was just the amount of experience I already had was amazing, you know. Yeah, you that you led right into where I was thinking, because you you and I just happened to be talking about this yesterday, and you went into your your journey and just um just the amount of hustling you you did, um especially when you were younger, but even even ah to get to where you are today and even now.
00:12:16
jwatson99
um Can you talk a little bit about that, especially when it comes to, I think there's not, one thing I do notice and you and I have talked about is that sometimes I think, um, with, with stuff like social media, there can be like an impatience, um, and you want to, um, be the plant manager or, or be the CEO on like day five. Um, can you talk about that journey and just hustling and working and, and just, you know, slowly grinding and getting your way up there over, over, over time?
00:12:47
jwatson99
Oh yeah, totally. and That's where I think you had one of the questions about
00:12:54
jwatson99
Exactly like what how would you approach a trade or you know your career in? One thing I did was you know, I just embraced it. I was really interested in it, you know, and it was exciting to learn new stuff, you know, and what was cool about that program I was in it was all the same crew we had about 16 of us, you know, we all had the same kind of oh We were in this program specifically for this tool and die. And so it was exciting. you know We were all compared stuff, how we worked on things. you know We were just <unk> so fresh. And I don't know, I just loved learning. eo You learn something every day. oh you know You're dedicated to it. you know And you immediately started to acquire tools. You know you you knew that you were starting to build your career. you know It wasn't just like, and I've seen it before, you know guys like, I think I'll try welding.
00:13:47
jwatson99
you know I think I'll try it. I've always wanted to run a lathe. I knew you know that this is what I'm going to do. i mean Whether I fail it or not is another question. but You know, and it was like that. And then it all through that beginning, and then even as you know I got my first job and second job, you know I always was oh ah getting better at what I did. And just, you know, I don't know, it was just something that I, go and I enjoy doing it. you know And that's, you know, it's the cliche. Do you really like doing what you're doing? you know
00:14:21
jwatson99
So yeah, it's really something I think and that's I think I I've that's the problem with I think of some people, you know, they're not Any job is a job, right? They all have the same problems But you know if this is what you really want to do then embrace it and dedicate yourself to it You know get the things that are quite required for whether it's more education or in this trade for sure, you know tools and training So, you know any you will move up quickly Well, in that.
00:14:54
jwatson99
That brings up the point that
Progression to Leadership
00:14:56
jwatson99
i'm I'm curious about. I mean, when you came in to HFW, but even just to the the industry in general, I mean, were you saying, yeah, someday I can see myself being a CNC supervisor, or being a plant manager, or is that something that just kind of happened naturally as you, you know, you became the best in your craft and really hardworking? And um was that something that just progressed naturally? Or was it something like when you started like, um that's what I want to do someday? Or how did that progress? Yeah, that's interesting. I mean, you know, definitely when you're younger, I couldn't, couldn't comprehend that, you know, like to have that kind of responsibility, you know, you're young and I think I, and I'm sure I said to myself, I would never want, I don't think I would be able to do that, you know, well what to have the confidence of it or whatever the skill even. And
00:15:41
jwatson99
And yes, it's just it wasn't, you know, I can say it wasn't like, yeah, that's what I'd like to do. I remember, you know, later on, after quite a few years, that the thought did occur to me. I'm like, I just wonder if I could handle that type of position. And it's funny, it's just kind of like, I guess, it's just like growing up is, you know, before you know it, you're an adult. ham learned And you know you're you're in I definitely It just kind of worked out that way. you know The opportunities were there. I remember John Watson said, we need somebody to run the CNC department. I was like, I could do that. you know And he's like, I think maybe you possibly could. you know and And that position wasn't even there yet.
00:16:22
jwatson99
Yeah, well that's the other thing. you You kind of came in when, at least our business, but really CNC as a whole was first getting started too. It was still kind of an infancy. We only had two or three machines, but it was starting to progress. and Yeah, so what was that like with kind of taking on a new challenge with new technology and something that I'm sure that especially because this kind of leads into something I wanted to talk to you as well. But yeah, that was, you know, 30 some years ago. um You have a bunch of guys back then here you're working with that are just like some of the legends in our business.
00:17:01
jwatson99
um What was it like working with this newfango technology? and um i'm sure i'm I can already hear what some of the old guys had to think about it. like What was it like? Oh, that was great. you know If you're talking about John Mandola or some of these other good guys. ah in a classic of, and I have had this out at other companies too, I've always been, I like the, when somebody says, we can't do it like that, or you can't do it that fast, or CNC is not, you know, gonna, so I would always be challenged, and I'd love to prove people wrong. So yes, it was it was always very challenging. And but
00:17:39
jwatson99
That's another thing i I embraced is I love the technology you know it's amazing and what this it's manufacturing and just like I guess if you look at like but you know online stuff you could buy just about anything can you not nowadays you think of something and I need a particular bracket for something you could find it And that's the way manufacturing is, especially in the CNC world or in any other, it's like they make something for, you know, they make a machine for it, they make a tool for it.
Advancements in CNC Technology
00:18:08
jwatson99
It's just amazing. And you can always improve something. and So in the end, you know, CNC wise,
00:18:16
jwatson99
you know compare the manual machines that's why i mean when we do one-off parts which is very challenging but the uh speed and accuracy and the repeatability you can't beat it and i had this discussion with ah somebody that said uh there's no way you know cnc grinder is going to be a viable option i'm like that's like saying computers should be thrown out i remember that or you might as well just toss your cell phone in the river all right
00:18:45
jwatson99
It's the best statement ever, you know, so well, that's funny. yeah Yeah, because we're now going down that road in our grinding department, like you mentioned with the CNC grinder, which um it's funny. We're talking about that today because we're just getting that, getting that running on on actual jobs today. And it seems like. finally getting things, um, running smoothly. And it was a long road to get here, but once you figure it out, like you were talking, like we're cutting the time, at least in the first one, which is probably, we'll probably get even better just infancy stage, you know, already cut the time in half. So it's, it's exciting. And, yeah um, it'll be funny to see in 10 or 15 years, if our, most of our grinders are CNC. Yep. I know.
00:19:27
jwatson99
um So, yeah, we we talked about some of those experienced guys, the grizzled guys, you're kind of in their seat now where they were when you first came to the business. um I'm curious because now you're you're do a lot of coaching and and working with the young guys, um but you're not coaching them and teaching them in the way that um you were taught, because i I know some of those older older school guys, um you know, a lot of the ah their their methods probably wouldn't fly today. um What did you learn from them and what have you adapted and as as you've kind of moved into that coaching role that you you're in now?
00:20:04
jwatson99
Oh, yeah, you know, I worked with some great guys. And the years they had, you know, when I started, there were guys there just like me that already had 30 years and it was just, I always watched and observed. And back then there were some crusty old guys and some were helpful and some were not, you know, I always tell that story where a guy watched me do something wrong all day. And then he came up to me goes, Yeah, now you're broken. It's got to go to the tour room and fix it. I'm like, Oh, thank you very much. ah but yeah there was nothing like uh and i guess maybe hopefully people see that in me nowadays but um there's not like you know watching guys that have been doing this for many years and they're just so good at it whatever it is you know machining or grinding or whatever uh we have some guys here that are like that today for sure and uh but yes ah you know there was guys in my first job as an apprentice was fantastic
00:20:54
jwatson99
I worked with some old school tool and die makers that I was discussing it with this guy today about, you know, really old school methods, you know, single point threading, they call it you know manual machines doing stuff that, you know, nowadays is not even heard of. So so what what is what would you say is your biggest piece of advice to um the new guys that are 18 or 19 years old coming out of the job now? Uh, you know, kind of like what I said before, I mean, really, you know, dedicate yourself if this is what you want to do to dedicate yourself to the trade, uh, you know, go full bore in and learn as much as you can. Uh, it's a, it's really neat if, you know, it's something that, you know, it's one of those, you like working with your hands, you know, you like, uh, it's great, you know, it's not, you know, office is not for me. I have an office, but I'm not in it very rarely. I know.
00:21:50
jwatson99
we try to find you you're not there and ah yeah so you know in it is something that you know I love the technology it's advancing and they can advance along with it so awesome how have you changed as a person so when you since you started in your 20s to where you are now um what changes have you noticed in yourself I think just naturally, you know, I hope most of us mature and I think I have.
Personal Growth and Communication
00:22:21
jwatson99
I remember being in my 20s is definitely when I first started working here and at other places, you know, I was wound pretty tight. I remember getting all pissed off about things you know about a particular And then I was just working on a job myself, one singular thing, you know, and ah or, you know, running into personality conflicts with people, you know, if you know, you know, mark and shipping. And I, it's funny, because I was talking to Matt the other day, and, you know, we're always coming across, we have some issues, let's say, somebody's having a personality problem with somebody else. I said, Do you understand what I had to deal with back then? You know, I mean, so
00:22:56
jwatson99
oh Well it's so funny too how you out some of these like these they're funny now but these stories are looked back on like almost fondly or like all that you know we were so much better back then and then you think you're like you think like you're like no we still had a lot of issues there are still things for that yeah but anyway as far as you know nowadays it's funny because I went it before I got into I remember talking to John anddola when he was so I said and I was just kind of like I guess maybe I thought about that like I wonder if I could do that and I said hey how do you deal with people messing things up or whatever dealing price like you get used to it but I think also you I you learn to let things go
00:23:41
jwatson99
You know, and you you can't get emotionally about this stuff. I mean, this is a job. You know, as soon as your emotions get involved is something you're done, you know, and I see that with people, you know, work with people and they start getting emotionally, you know, pissed off at each other. that You're done here. We got to stop this and move on. So. Yeah, ah it's definitely, and it's, you know, I guess comes with age and years and years of dealing with stuff. You know what I mean? You kind of get, you they get calloused. Yeah. I was going to say, you you've become, ah you know, we had Jacob on and he he had the, he went to school for psychology. You went to school for psychology too, just the school of hard knocks. Yeah. You're learning it on the job. Oh yeah. You're learning all the different people's quirks and personality conflicts. Oh man.
00:24:27
jwatson99
Yeah, it's really something.
Passion for Triathlons and Outdoor Activities
00:24:30
jwatson99
What's something that you're proud of? What makes you proud? um and Personally wise, or what i you know I did a ah few trail athletes back in the day. And so i I remember that's something that you know i remember was something I dedicated training for. And I just kind of stumbled upon that. It wasn't I didn't pursue it. ah you know I was already biking. And my neighbor asked me, you want to go running? So I started running with this guy. and My brother used to swim at the pool, right? And I would just meet him for swimming. All of a sudden, I was like, oh, those three disciplines. And then I looked at him like, I bet you I could do a triathlon. And so, yeah, I tried to train hard for that. And I did the intermediate, it's called, it's Olympic distance ones. That was really fun. It was something ah you know to shoot for. So that's one thing I'm pretty proud of. and
00:25:21
jwatson99
Yeah. i'm I'm hoping to get there. It's, it's intimidating. I got the biking part down, but the, the swimming and running, I can do it, but I don't look forward to in the same way that I don't know. It's just not swimming. You got to get trained for it. You learn the breathing technique and you can swim forever. Then once you get it down. but it's so I've heard the, uh, the wetsuit can help too. Cause you float a little bit. Yes. Yeah. yeah It helps get buoyancy. um Yeah. What is something that most people at HFW want to know about you? um
00:25:54
jwatson99
Well, i some know and some don't. you know I don't drink whatsoever. And know people will say, like you know do you have a drink here? And I'm like, no. And I quit drinking when I was in my early 20s. Wow. Yeah. So it's something that you know I did. I did some partying in and high school and college. And it just ah wasn't for me. And that's something I dedicate to. I just haven't had a drink since. That's something I'm the same way. I don't i don't know why. i don't There's not one reason, but and it's funny because someone brought this up the other day and I'm like, wouldn't it be hard? I don't know. You get used to it. And yep you also do realize how central alcohol is to our society, oh whether it's sporting events, family events. i mean And even triathlons. You get to on the other race, there's ah there's all yeah all the beers. so You can drink back all the calories you just burned.
00:26:49
jwatson99
Okay, that's cool. So, like you mentioned, you celebrated your 30th anniversary at HFW this year. What has kept you at HFW for that time? You know, ah it's a small company. Well, a couple reasons, as simple as I'm two miles from work, it's always been nice. I'm jealous. oh and But also, even early on, or even now, I think he's always had this independence in a way, you know. I mean, You know, Matt, John, whoever have always, uh, you know, guided me or gave me direction or say, Hey, you need to get this done or that done the other. But for the most part.
00:27:29
jwatson99
You pretty much run independently. You know, do the job that you're supposed to do. oh It was really cool back when I was just on the floor. And we only had a few guys in the CNC department. And so I was like, you know what? I'm going to go over there and learn that machine. I'm going to you know take this upon myself. I could modify this tooling. or want you know And you really just kind of were on your own just getting things done. yeah And I think it's always been like that. so you know I worked at other companies and it's just been a it's kind of a it is a family business and I don't know it just seemed the right fit for me but yeah just having that it's kind of like being guided but you're you're kind of run on your own to get your job done.
00:28:14
jwatson99
Well, it's a good reminder for me because I think, like we kind of touched on earlier, it's so easy to ah micromanage or say, well, I can do that. um But I think that's always that's always one of the things I pitch is, especially when you come to a company like ours, you really have the ability to largely control your destiny. And there is a lot of freedom, which um for some people, that's not right. they Some people like to have a very structured, like, this is what I'm doing. And we talk about these guys all the time. you know They like to know what they're going to do for 10 hours. They don't like a ton of deviation. um But there are other people, and we have a bunch from here, obviously, where they like that freedom. you know They're having to make decisions all day. um And it's a really rewarding environment, even when things don't go the way you want them all the time. um It's rewarding because you go home and you're you know you're usually exhausted. But it's still like, man, we're we're building something. where were you know We're doing something. ah And my mind is just stimulated all day with,
00:29:11
jwatson99
ah challenges and in successes too. Totally. I've worked with people like that where there's, I said, listen, he had nothing going at the moment. like You know, you go explore, go take a look what they're doing down in the weld shop, you know, take a look around, get down to the assembly, you know, get down there and meddle around. And that's why I've always been, whether it was Eller Cup or they're here, I always want to know what's going on. And I think that's helped me as far as, you know, improving my career to be, you know, inquisitive, you know, and to see what's going on, you know, find out how things are done. And because I've always wanted to learn as much as I can. so
00:29:44
jwatson99
totally that's something I've come to appreciate about our business in particular is you know I follow a lot of other shops and see what they have going on and you know for the most part other shops are they're a machine shop or a weld shop or um a grind shop and we have all these different disciplines in house and there's so much opportunity and and and also um we're doing stuff that you You know, and I've heard my dad saved my whole life, you know, how ah specialized and, and I'm precise it is. um But then you see what else is out there and there's some really great companies and, but I don't know, we just have like a unique combination here and it's, for sure it's really neat. I think that's always, ah that's another, you know, I've known it's, it's always been a strong company to work for.
00:30:30
jwatson99
You know, we've gone through some tough times like everybody has, but in different financial situations. And, you know, that's one of our, you know, our cores, the you know type of work we do in special coding and stuff like that. ah So we are so diverse and that's helped us through tough times. Yeah. All right, so switching gears a little bit. ah We've mostly talked about the past and um what's gotten you here today. ah But to flip that, what what is something you look forward to or what gets you excited or is is a dream of yours in the future?
Dream of Owning a Sailboat
00:31:06
jwatson99
um I've always been fascinated with boats, you know, and I have a motorboat I've had boats all my life pretty much had a small sailboat not too long ago, which I never really sailed before so cool Yes, ultimate dream is a 30-foot sailboat, you know I don't know if I want to get there yet, but uh, that would be it, you know, a big sailboat have it One of them is downtown and Take it out in the lake, you know, that's nice possibly, you know retirement travel around he could So I don't know. It's just something I've always been fascinated with. I just love being out of the water. Yeah That's really cool. Have you seen the that bridge that they're taking down the so like of but story? Yeah, it's pretty neat. That's a
00:31:57
jwatson99
I haven't, my family hasn't been, we're not big boaters, but a few times I have been on a boat. I'm just fascinated by water. And I mean, especially in a city like Buffalo, where we live on one of the great lakes. That's crazy. And we take it for granted. Niagara Falls, the Erie Canal. I mean, this is what shaped America's history in a lot of ways. So that's really cool. If you're not working Pete, what are people most likely to find you doing? Well, you know, I have two young boys at home. So, you know, they take up a lot of my time, which it's great time. You know, so I love, uh, Charlie loves fishing. My 11 year old i love taking a fishing. Pete, uh, we cycled together. Oh, you he's got dirt bike. We do that once in a while pizza monster. i guess Yeah. He's, he's crazy. he's good Yep. He's a good kid. And, uh, so yeah, they take a lot of my time. Um, I love the outdoors mostly. So, uh,
00:32:48
jwatson99
It's kind of fun. I don't, you know, staying home working on the house is not my thing. So I either be biking. I have a good friend of mine. We've done a lot of hiking, you know, camping trips and stuff like that. So, you know, spending the time is where the boys is most important. Well, I think it's really neat because, um, I see you and I have a lot of conversations and one thing that, um, you know, I'm not a dad yet, but one thing I appreciate about you is it seems like you have a special connection to both your boys and and it's different too. Like they both have, uh, different disciplines they're interested in or areas they're interested in and you, and you're kind of able to, um, to relate to both, it seems like. Yeah, totally. Uh, Charlie's the fisherman and Pete, he's the sport. jock guy you know so rocker too yeah yeah we go into a lot of concerts that's super cool yeah that's that's awesome all right so you like we talked about you have the opportunity um you you you're interacting with most people at the company on any given day is there any one person you want to call out right now or give a shout out to for the great work they've done lately
00:33:58
jwatson99
ah That would be tough for me to you know i was going to say isolate down to one or
Importance of Teamwork and Young Contributions
00:34:03
jwatson99
two. But you know I would say I'd have to you know say that the young guys, Anthony and Jayden, as young as they are, we put them in a a tough spot, you know, we've we've given them a lot at such a young age, and ah they're they're working very well right now. Like I said before, um you know, six months ago, and I'm going to say it for the next six months and so on, that they're just going to improve. And also the veterans, you know, Ben and Mark are really coming along, helping out drastically, especially the situation that I'm in right now.
00:34:36
jwatson99
and you know overall Matt you know Matt has said it and I'll i'll reiterate it you know we really do have a ah good group of guys overall you know working out the kinks and getting the training and you know trying to improve whatever our methods and systems is always a challenge but uh yeah everybody's been grateful Yeah, that's kind of a good segue into our our next part two that we'll do at a future date about um some of the initiatives we're we're working on. But I think you really hit the nail on the head. It all starts with good people. and
00:35:12
jwatson99
um You brought up the young guys, and and it was funny because you you went right down where I was going to. The young guys aren't where they are without um the guys like Mark or Ben that are or Zelco or any of these guys that are working on training them. ah So we've really just got a good got a great mix and. um You know, it's as I said in the beginning that we're 55 employees on the floor is about 42 or so and you. You have to understand that it's difficult to get that many people to work together. yeah You know what I'm saying? yeah Like I said before, there's personality conflicts everywhere you go. And it really is. And it for the most part, everybody works together very well.
Navigating Job Stress and Finding Fulfillment
00:35:56
jwatson99
yeah I've been to places where it is just brutal. you know Oh, there's like turf wars. and yeah You hear about all these crazy things. Obviously, we're not immune to that. we we have ah but From time to time, there's some things that probably, for the most part,
00:36:09
jwatson99
um It seems like we have a really good thing going. All right. Well, that'll just about wrap up part one of this. This has been an awesome discussion. Thanks. I really appreciate it. Anything you'd want to add or you'd like to close with? Um, I would just say, you know, the only thing I would say is, you know, a job is a job and it's funny. I see it in the people. Uh, what I do, another thing I do in my free time is I always evaluate people's jobs, right? Go somewhere. I love it. You know, my thing is to evaluate what kind of stress level does that person have, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My job can be very stressful. Yeah.
00:36:47
jwatson99
So I'm evaluating, I'm like, and I've seen people working at a jewelry counter, complaining about, some shit sucks, you know? you know i mean But my point is, every job has stress, every job could be difficult, and they all have the same issues. So the matter is whether this isn't what you really like doing, and so that's about it. awesome no that's a ah great point it's funny i kind of do the same thing i'm like man that person must have the the dream job right stress and then you you talk to them me like oh i'm stressed about this that yeah i got one more thing to share about that is the perfect example of that so i had this awesome opportunity to go to alaska my buddy lived up there right so i'm up there by the keen night river we went on this uh fly fishing trip and with this young guy who's a guide all right he's taking guys out in field and stream and everything like he's one of the top of the world
00:37:37
jwatson99
So we immediately get in the boat. It was 9 AM or 8 AM. And I'm like, man, this guy's got the ultimate job. Yeah. like geez I was just so envious. you know And so we spent the whole day. We literally fished from 9 AM to 9 PM that night. Stopped for dinner. We had lunch and everything. It was a really awesome trip. I'm telling you what, I was so exhausted by the end of that day. And this guy worked so hard. you know He had had so much rods and fly rods that he kept switching over during the day. It was a ton of work. Yeah. And at my point, I was like, I don't think I could do that. So, you know, darn well, he's probably after a year or two, he's burnout, you know, so every job's a job. And it's just a matter of if you like doing that. The grass is always greener until you get there and then it's brown. Awesome. I'm tired of fishing. ah Well, this has been great, Pierre. Again, I really appreciate it. um And I look forward to part two. Excellent. Thank you. All right. Thanks. Thanks for having me.
00:38:36
jwatson99
a