When you work in manufacturing, you need to maintain many different machines and facilities to ensure that your operations run continuously and smoothly. Our customers expect that their projects will run efficiently without interruption, and we take this responsibility very seriously. This month’s spotlight focuses on a key player on the PRO-TECH team who helps keep everything running successfully.
Please meet Thomas McNicholas, our Facilities and Maintenance Technician. Tom came to us during the pandemic in 2020 after the previous person earned a well-deserved retirement. In the past two years, Tom has become an indispensable part of our team.
Prior to joining PRO-TECH, Tom worked as a Press Operator and Working Forman for a printing company. He worked there for 35 years! And it was a family affair – his father worked at the company for 45 years, he met his wife there, and his father-in-law was his boss for a time. Needless to say, it was a huge part of his life.
Therefore, it was understandably difficult when the company shut down operations in 2020. When it did, Tom had to look for a new opportunity in an unfamiliar industry. Luckily for us, his job search led him to PRO-TECH, and we are so thankful that it did.
It is amazing the range of things he can fix. His mechanical acumen is unbelievable. In a single day, Tom may be called upon to adjust the settings on a machine, repair equipment, assemble an employee’s desk, and paint portions of our headquarters building in Santa Fe Springs, CA.
Outside of work, Tom enjoys spending time with his family. He has two kids and five grandchildren. And no one knows him better than his wife, Renee’, who he has been married to for 35 years! As a native of Chicago, he also likes rooting for his beloved Chicago sports teams, particularly the Blackhawks.
Related to his love of hockey, Tom recently discovered a unique connection he had to the company, without even knowing it. One of his nephews played club hockey in Southern California, and a few weeks ago, he found out that our President, Aaron Swanson, was one of the coaches of his nephew’s team! They figured that they must have been at the same ice rink many times over the years without actually meeting.
Tom, thank you for all that you do to keep PRO-TECH running. The range of tasks you take on is utterly amazing and we appreciate all that you do for the company!