If you’ve ever had to move from one apartment or home to another, you know how big a hassle it can be.
You have to pack everything just right and make sure the truck is packed and carefully driven to your new place, and yet – somehow – things still go missing.
Now imagine making the job 40 times bigger and needing to get it done as quickly as possible.
It might sound insurmountable, but it’s just another day at Kris-Tech for our February Employee of the Month, Will Potter.
When Kris-Tech learned it needed to move its warehouse to another location, Will and his team sprang into action.
“Typically, a move like this would take a couple of months,” Larry Reed, Director of Operations and Will’s nominator, said. “Will and his team moved this mountain in only two and a half weeks. He continually coordinated efforts with the teams at our old and new locations, ensuring trucks were loaded and offloaded quickly.”
Like any move, the job was more than a simple lift-and-shift. Not only did material need to be moved, but racking also had to be torn down and rebuilt, floor lanes prepped, and product had to make its way to Houston – all while day-to-day work had to get done. Will jumped into action, even pulling weekend shifts to keep the project on track and on time.
“He kept himself entrenched with his team, working side-by-side with them throughout the move,” Reed explained. “Will had a pretty new and inexperienced staff. Nonetheless, they forged on under his leadership and completed the task ahead of schedule.”
Even better? There were no reported safety incidents during the move!
It’s one thing to accomplish a big move quickly. It’s another to do it without dropping the ball on other daily tasks.
“Under Will’s leadership, the team continued supplying the mill with all the raw materials needed to keep the machines running,” Reed said. “He also coordinated moving the tracer wire from our Rome Kris-Tech location to our Houston warehouse. During this move, there was minimal impact to either his internal or external customers.”
But the success isn’t Will’s alone. He had a lot of help from a dedicated group of employees who trusted him enough to get the work done ahead of schedule. Despite their inexperience, they got up to speed quickly and stayed focused on the big picture.
“His team trusts him,” Reed explained. “He spent time with them, ensuring they understood the project goals and expectations. They trusted him with the day-to-day work but also came to see him regarding personal matters.”
Will was named our Employee of the Month, but there were several other Kris-Tech employees up for the prestigious award, including:
Ellen Kislyuk
Kelsey Corrigan
Two winners down, and only 10 more to go in 2023! Stick around to see who wins March’s award and joins Will and Jon Gifford as contenders for Kris-Tech Employee of the Year.
