John Martin | Fabrication Mentor
Since building the first hose cart, Puck has been driven by the desire to create the equipment customer manure pumpers need, even if that means doing it ourselves. The Puck fabrication team took on more duties and challenges as designs became more detailed and improvements were made. Today, Puck’s Fabrication department has a large number of full time welders and technicians.
Reflecting on the Past
John Martin, Fabrication Training Lead, has been working at Puck for roughly ten years. Before Puck Enterprises, John worked at a small welding shop just north of Manning. There, he gained experience with agricultural repair, custom fabrication, and structural welding. Originally, John came to Puck to fill in part time when needed. “I came to Puck part time and learned just how much I loved the environment, how fun it was to work here,” explained John. “The guys were really, really great, even as a part timer.” That work environment led John to eventually transition into a full time position at Puck.
When John joined the Fabrication department, there were two divisions; fab and sub-fab. John joined fab, which was the larger structure fabrication team. This team worked on larger pieces such as chassis and domes. “I enjoyed getting to be a part of helping with improvements and making suggestions for processes to make things better,” said John. “I used some of the tips and tricks from my previous job to apply here to the manufacturing process.” John later transitioned again to the sub-fab division, working on smaller parts such as swingers and male hydros. “I enjoyed getting my hands on both smaller and larger parts, as it gave me the opportunity to understand how all the parts work together,” said John.
Participation in Improvements
One constant throughout John's time at Puck is that he has been able to comfortably express his opinions on processes. “Having the ability here at Puck to have my voice heard a little bit, even in the engineering department, is pretty nice,” said John. His interest in safe and efficient processes helped transition John into the role of Fabrication Training Lead. In this position, John teaches and trains welders to ensure things are done correctly. He takes the time to show proper techniques, answer questions, help with documentation, and more. “Some of the institutional knowledge stuck in my head is, I guess, what you would call valuable, so I share it,” said John.
John also created Puck’s Fabrication Training Program to help welders who are new to the industry. This program covers a wide range of topics. This includes reading a tape measure, crane safety, welding, using a jig, building things on sawhorses, reading blueprints, and more. John believes that each small detail covered in the program is important to being a good welder. “Teaching is probably what I enjoy most right now,” said John. “Being able to help, teach, show guys what they’re doing and how they can do it better, making improvements in processes. I still get to have a good hand in helping the Engineering department make things easier for the Fabrication department, and make suggestions on builds.”
Looking to the Future
Although he likes teaching most, John also enjoys when new products come down the line. “I like building prototype stuff because it's something new, something that hasn’t been built before,” he said. “There’s a sense of accomplishment when you can do something right the first time and make suggestions to the way things are built and be a part of that process.” John believes that collaborative process can expand into a new division at Puck. “I hope one day there’s an opportunity for a prototype department, but right now I’m loving what I’m doing.”
It isn’t just the work John is doing that he loves about his job at Puck Enterprises. “I love being part of a team where the culture is fun. Not everything is corporate structure,” he said. “We have flexibility to get overtime when we want overtime, and it’s never been mandatory. It’s always an option, as well as the opportunity to make some time up, all the guys love that. The sense of camaraderie that you get with a set of good guys that want to be here every day, that want to do better, that want to learn is really important to me.” Despite extensive growth over the last decade, John believes that the company culture has remained the same since he first decided to work here. “That’s something that we’ve held onto a lot here at Puck. We maintain the culture of a small town feel with a big time manufacturing environment,” he said.
You can keep up with what Fabrication is up to, as well as more staff stories like John’s video, by following our Facebook page. If you would like to learn more about Puck’s employment opportunities, check our careers page often.
