I can’t tell you how many finishing and coating shop managers and owners have told me over the years how they started out racking parts or running a forklift, and now they are calling the shots. Even the ones who were brought up in the family business often gleam with pride knowing that they earned their current job through hard work and pushing a broom.
This could only happen in the U.S. and Canada, or so it seems. I’m sure there are parts of Europe and South America where other locales I’ve never been where hard work will pay off, but we always like to think that it can only happen in America.
I’ve seen some powder coating and plating operations where the line of command is pre-determined; the son or daughter will take over for the father, who took over for his father. That is only right if it is a family business, but I think a lot of companies miss a golden opportunity to give the rank and file the chance to vie for some of the top jobs at a shop.
Everyone wants a shot of they think they can work hard and earn it. We all do. We clock in every morning not just to earn a paycheck, but I think a great majority of us want to show what we are made of, how smart we are maybe, and to show we can lead. It is the nature of our being, and truly, what makes the U.S. a very good country to grow and prosper.
If shop owners and managers are not opening up their command staff positions to anyone willing to work hard and earn the job, then that is a big swing and miss. If the message is sent loud and clear that the next person to sit in one of the desk chairs has already been pre-determined, then it sends a message that no matter how hard you work, you may not reach your ultimate goal.
I’ve met guys like Justin Guzman at Aircraft X-Ray in Los Angeles who started out racking parts and sweeping floors, and now is president of his company. I would be hard-pressed to find a better manager than Justin, and luckily someone saw that in him, too.
We all want opportunities. We all want to be rewarded. We all want to be treated fairly. If a shop doesn’t afford those chances, then talent will leave. The smart shops are the ones who think outside the box and put the best people in leadership positions; not give them a piece of the company pie, but make them a leader and someone that others could look up to and envy.
Even the person racking parts and sweeping floors.
Tim Pennington is Editor-in-Chief of Finishing and Coating, and has covered the industry since 2010. He has traveled extensively throughout North America visiting shops and production facilities, and meeting those who work in the industry. Tim began his career in the newspaper industry, then wound itself between the sports field with the PGA Tour and marketing and communications firms, and finally back into the publishing world in the finishing and coating sector. If you want to reach Tim, just go 
