“I have been in the fabrication industry for about 18 years, 8 of which have been at Mazak Optonics. I started at AW Whitney on CNC punch plasma machine service. But with the advancements in technology, they introduced their laser. I was picked as one of the technicians who would switch to their laser-cutting machines.

“Since starting at Mazak Optonics, I have worked in a few different roles in the service department. I started as a field service engineering where I became a specialist on the Hyper Gear. I then moved into a service supervisor position which allowed me to learn the organization and communication aspects. Then as a minuteman, I used skills from both of these roles to best help our customers."

“As one of the first Service Minuteman, I had one of the most unique roles here at Mazak. The minuteman role was created to better serve our customers. Typically scheduling is done on Fridays for the engineers to be at our customers’ sites on Monday. But sometimes incidents occur over the weekend or even on Monday which makes it difficult to immediately respond. The minutemen are engineers based out of our Elgin, Illinois office who are purposely not scheduled and have a suitcase ready for rapid deployment for situations when a customer needs immediate assistance. The minuteman role allows our engineers to get to our customers quickly and can often provide same-day response. When I was not on the road, I was in the office and helped with phone support, created various procedures, and helped with service training.”

This coming June will be 14 year here at Mazak. My opportunities here have been very enjoyable experiences. I started out working in the back of the house, in the Parts Department involving warehouse shipping and receiving. From there, I was promoted to the Warehouse Group Leader where I handled all warehouse operations including shipping and receiving and some inventory control. From there I went to the front of the house as a Customer Service Rep, team of just me. With the success and extensive growth Mazak has had, the department grew and I was moved to be the Customer Service Group Leader. This role handled all inbound parts requests. I was then shifted into the Procurement Group Leader working hand in hand with other managers regarding purchases and warranty claims.

The parts department went through some reorganization, so now I am currently the Customer Service Supervisor for the Parts Department. It has been a truly amazing experience to work with such a great group of employees that are dedicated to doing the best job possible and are always supportive. This has been a highly motivating factor for me. I look forward to the future of Mazak Optonics.

"Now, as an Applications Engineer, I have new responsibilities and a more structured schedule. I will be training customers on how to operate Mazak’s laser machines, performing machine demonstrations, providing feasibility cuts, and providing customer support for laser-cutting applications. I am looking forward to growing in this role and continuing to assist our customers."

“Great customer service to me is solving a problem as efficiently as possible in order to get the machine up and running as quickly as possible. My mom and dad instilled in me that ‘if you’re going to do it, do it right’ and I always bring that work with me. Another important aspect to great customer service is also explaining it all to our customers. It is essential to take the time to help customers understand what happened and how to prevent it, all while getting them more comfortable with their Mazak laser-cutting machine.”

“Summer activities are my favorite, not a huge fan of winter sports although every fall, I always look forward to duck hunting. My friends and I have a blind on a local lake. It's not all about killing ducks but also hanging out with your buddies and have some bonding time. During the summer, I enjoy boating and working on my old Camaro. The best days are motorcycle track days. I have been into racing motorcycles since 2010. It has always been one of my passions, because it is an individual experience.I am the only one who can hold me back and I am also the only one who can make the motorcycle go faster. It’s really a mental sport, the focus required is the biggest factor. A day at the race track is both exhilarating and calming. I am also sort of a metal head. I love heavy metal music from Ozzy, Metallica, and Slayer. But I also enjoy classic country like Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard”.

“I would want to be the first person to walk on Mars. I have always been interested in space ever since I was a kid and I still really enjoy it. I love watching shows on and learning about it; I think it is so fascinating. I also find the technology and equipment that get us into space just mind boggling. Space travel machinery are some of the most powerful creations we have ever built. Most recently, [Tuesday, February 6th] SpaceX just launched their Falcon Heavy into space to orbit a car around the sun about as far out as Mars”.