Larry is a people person who excels at problem-solving and working with numbers. He trains employees to fill food orders for a global food manufacturer. Larry is conscientious about delivering quality products and developing employees to understand the “why” behind the food manufacturing processes.
Teaching & Growing Together
Larry’s career in the food industry began in 1997 as a food slicer for a food manufacturer. Within 6 months they promoted him to Crew Lead. He loves being a Crew Lead because it means teaching people. Larry exclaims, “I took pride in what I did, what I do, and I know if I don’t teach it, then they can’t produce it the right way. We all fail just by me not doing my part.”
In any manufacturing plant, all the pieces must work together to create a whole. Currently Larry oversees the kitchen and slicing areas where ingredients are sliced, mixed, and cooked. The plant opened less than a year ago, so he’s getting the staff and machines up to speed to meet units per labor hour metrics. He’s very proud to report a successful journey so far. Larry says, “There are so many steps to it, to making the different recipes, and I haven’t made a failure yet because I double-check everything. I hate redoing something that I’ve already done.”
Feeling Grateful
Larry never takes gratitude for granted. Every morning, he arrives at work with a clear understanding of the production targets. If the workload is large, he ensures the production lines keep moving to meet their goals. Larry recounts, “It may stop because of one reason or another, but it’s not going to stop because of my department. That’s my gratification.”
When his company of 26 years closed last fall, he transitioned to his new role with his current company. He’s grateful for Matern Staffing’s support and patience during that time of transition. Larry states, “They waited for me to come to the company, and they supported me from the time I walked through the door to now. And they gave me the time that I needed to get to this point. They find solutions to your questions and treat you with dignity and respect.”
Embracing Change at Work
Time. Larry has seen a lot of changes in his career over time. The new food manufacturing plant has more sophisticated machinery that’s less physically demanding on the body, but some of the new equipment is slower. That can be frustrating to someone like Larry who records fills over time.
He notes that his patience and collaboration skills have also grown over the years. In his line of work, he’s learned to work with people from all backgrounds and skills. Larry tries to help people solve problems together, instead of immediately escalating issues to upper management. He also notes the importance of compartmentalizing work life and personal life. “You can’t put them together because all it does is cause more stress,” states Larry.
Seeing Larry in action at work is a beautiful testament to his passion for teaching others and doing a job well done. Even through his mask you can see Larry smiling, laughing and enjoying his work. Though, he doesn’t claim it’s work, “It’s just something that you have to do.”
Teaching, gratitude, and embracing change – that’s Larry’s story.
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