Hello Jeff, thanks for speaking with us today. To start things off, can you tell us how you got started with the company?

Sure. In March, I’ll have been with the company 33 years. I graduated college with an industrial engineering degree in 1992 and was looking for a job in my field in the area. I was engaged at the time, and my now wife had a semester of school left.

I found a job with Ripon Printers and started as an estimator, while I was still looking for work in my field. I really liked the company and after the first year, the plant engineer left the company.

I was promoted and took on the role of Project Engineer. That’s kind of how I got my start in the facilities type of work, and it was a good fit.

To go back a little bit, where did you go to college, and did you always envision that you would work in some type of manufacturing?

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I always envisioned I would work in manufacturing, but it could have been any kind of manufacturing. It just happened to be printing.

What are the different lessons you’ve learned from all the different jobs you’ve done over the past 30+ years in Ripon?

Well, starting out as an estimator was a good introduction because I learned a lot about printing and knew nothing about the process initially. In estimating, you learn about all the different production processes.

Then when I became a project engineer, I worked side by side with maintenance and other department leadership because most of my role was related to facilities: building and grounds type projects, plant layout, equipment installations and managing building systems.

And this led to more opportunities?

As the years went by, the maintenance supervisor retired. I became our plant engineer and supervised our maintenance department. This was my first supervisory experience.

Then three years ago, I became manager of the press room and maintenance.  This added more roles and responsibilities and brought opportunities to learn more about the business side of our operations.

Can you explain what your specific duties would include in a typical day or week?

Well there is no typical day or week; it’s always something different. I’m involved in a lot of different things. I still work on bigger projects and have leadership responsibilities for three different departments.

It is a balancing act between administrative duties, project work, production needs and whatever issues pop up from day to day.

I would imagine you’ve witnessed a lot of technology and process changes first-hand during your time here. What stands out to you in that regard and how do you see things continuing to evolve for printing?

When I started here, we still had cameras in house, and we produced a lot with film and we hand assembled film flats to burn into plates to put on the presses.

I think the Pre-press area has changed the most, going completely digital and things becoming more automated.

The equipment has also gone from very mechanical equipment to much more electronically controlled equipment. Troubleshooting for our maintenance department can now require strong electrical skills in addition to mechanical skills.

When you were growing up, were you always pretty mechanically inclined?

I always did well in school and was always interested in industry and manufacturing, more so than being mechanically inclined.  I went more into the industrial side because I’ve always liked the business and operations side of things more.

You worked for Ripon for many years before it became Walsworth. What do you feel are the characteristics of both those companies that has allowed them to be so successful over the years?

They were both family-run businesses that made sound business decisions and hired very good people. The company has done well financially without taking huge risks and putting the company at risk.

What do you see as the keys to future success for Walsworth going forward?

Continuing to embrace technology. Automation is evolving rapidly, from AI to other automated equipment that we can use to assist individuals and take some of the manual burden away, whether it’s ergonomic benefits or other types of efficiencies. Giving people the tools they need to do their jobs.

Let’s talk about life outside of work. You live in Oshkosh now, but where did you grow up?

Actually grew up in a small town called Winneconne. It’s very close, about 15 miles away. Oshkosh is a little bit bigger.

Did you and your wife meet in college?

We were actually a grade apart in school growing up and knew each other most of our lives. But we didn’t start dating until about halfway through college.

Now, Nan and I have been married for 32 years.

Can you tell us about your kids?

Nan and I were blessed with 3 amazing kids. Austin, our first born son, passed away in December of 2019. He graduated from UW-Oshkosh and was pursuing a career as a financial planner. He continues to inspire us, and we complete random acts of kindness in his honor and memory.

Our son Kevin graduated from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Accounting. He now works as a financial analyst. He and his wife just had their first child in July. Teagan is our first grandchild. And our daughter Baylee graduated from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Education and teaches freshman English at a local high school. 

So you recently became a grandfather. What’s that transition been like?

It’s been incredible. She has brought so much joy to our family, and you can’t help but be happy when she’s around. It’s really given us a new purpose, and we can’t wait to watch her grow and be part of her life.

Any other hobbies or things you guys like to do for fun?

Yeah, just a lot of family stuff. I like to fish. I hunt a little bit. We have a cabin on a lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Just going to the cabin, being in nature. We’re very family-oriented, spend a lot of time together. Play a lot of card games, board games, anything just to hang out.

Most folks we talk to from Ripon are (Green Bay) Packers fans. Are you a Packer fan?

Oh definitely. My daughter and her fiancé are actually season ticket holders.

What’s one thing about you most people wouldn’t know?

I’ve witnessed six hole-in-ones on the golf course, but I’ve never got one myself.

So you must golf or be on the course quite a bit to have seen that many.

Well four were when I was playing, and two were when I was working. Out of high school, one of my first jobs was at the local golf course. I actually helped with building the course. In the summers, I was on the grounds crew. When I was waiting to mow a green, you sit back to let them hit, and I witnessed two hole-in-ones.

Then I was with my dad when he got one. I was with my grandpa when he got one. I was with a co-worker when he got one, and then I played in a league and a guy I was playing against got one. So there you go…

Did you have a favorite trip or vacation destination that you guys took?

We’ve been to Maui twice. The first trip I had the opportunity to take a day trip over to Oahu to see Pearl Harbor which was a neat and humbling experience.

We did a few trips with the kids at different stages. We did Disney, SeaWorld and then when they were older, we spent one Christmas at Universal. The boys were big Harry Potter fans.

Do you have a favorite book?

Not in particular. I’m not an avid reader. I did like some of the John Grisham novels. I got into a couple of them. Calico Joe was one of them. The King of Torts was another. I haven’t read all of them, but they were interesting.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

We watch a lot of action films. I liked all the Mission Impossibles. We watched the Harry Potters a million times. I like the Jason Bourne movies. Princess Bride, that’s a cult classic from the 80s. And I’ve always liked the quirky humor ones, like Airplane.

Do you have a favorite meal or type of food?

I like a lot of different types of food cuisines, but one meal I’ve always loved is northern patties with potato pancakes. To explain what northern patties are, you first have to understand that northern pike have a lot of bones in them. When we clean them, we just leave the bones in them, grind them up and make fish patties. It’s just easier to clean them that way.

The combination of the northern pike and the potato pancakes is really good.

Is seafood in general a favorite of yours?

Yeah, I fish a lot and definitely like seafood. I like a good steak too, though.

If you had a personalized coffee mug, what would it say?

(laughs) I don’t drink coffee. But I think it would say, “Gone fishing.”

Do you have a favorite memory or accomplishment from your career that you’re most proud of?

It would have to be the installation of our Manroland press in 2004. It’s probably the biggest project I’ve worked on to date. There was just so much collaboration because at that time I was a project engineer.

I was working with maintenance, the Press Department and management. We were working with construction companies because we had to move loading docks and add on to the building. There were a lot of decisions to make. We designed and built a mezzanine for the press to go on. It was really complex.

It was a project with a lot of moving parts. It took a lot of coordination and went really well. Such a rewarding experience.