Aiming High

Two more Westminster Tool employees aim to perfect what they do, relying on the team to help them do just that.

Seth Velasquez is a 23-year-old apprentice machinist at Westminster Tool. He has been there for five years, and he sees himself perfecting what he does and mentoring others to do the same in the next five years. He believes that the greatest aspect of working at Westminster is the flexibility and work environment. "There's always a sense of change and that's refreshing," he says.

Looking back, Seth shares that he started at Westminster as entry level thinking it was just another job, but with a little more potential as a career. He never really considered manufacturing as a job before; however, after working a short time he started seeing manufacturing in the long-term sense.

He says that as the company started changing, so did his role as an employee. The idea of his job being a career was becoming more real. He started shadowing the older, more experienced moldmakers, and it progressed from there.

"I think I'm a solid example of potential. I didn't have the training in high school and I didn't start working on a manufacturing skill set until I got to Westminster Tool, but now I'm on my way to a solid career as a machinist because the company recognized and utilized my potential. It just shows that with the right training, gaps can be filled in high-demand manufacturing positions," explains Seth.

Seth enjoys the responsibility and credibility he has at Westminster. He's accountable for his work and his work is important to the company. "There's still a lot I have to learn and there's still a lot of training I'll go through, but having some authority and responsibility over what I do is rewarding," says Seth.

Now meet Jeff Smith who works in information technology and support at Westminster. He aims to become head of IT, if not the CIO, in five years. Jeff is 42 years old and comes to Westminster with an array of work experience within various industries, including tool & die, cellular and landline phones, restaurants and retail. His most imporatnt asset to Westminster is his ability to keep the network alive and running.  He notes that the key is to catch issues before anyone notices.

Jeff believes that the greatest challenge the industry faces is cost and productivity.  "The challenge of finding a way to remain on the forefront is a big one, but we are meeting and exceeding that challenge with the implementation of highly talented staff and continued education."

According to Jeff, the greatest aspect of working at Westminster is the people, which is a recurring theme with Westminster's employees.  The most important thing learned he's learned is the value of working as a team. "Keep the ship sailing, full speed ahead."