Meet Bermex Operations Manager Mike Waltz
Meet Bermex Operations Manager Mike Waltz
Change can be hard, but with the right resources, people, and processes in place, making a big transition becomes a little easier.
Mike Waltz spent more than 20 years at Pilkington North America, a global automotive glass manufacturer and distributor, where he served in several roles, including general manager type positions. When COVID-19 swept across the U.S., it affected his role as it did many industries.
“Unfortunately, when COVID came about, a lot of industries related to the automotive field took a beating,” said Waltz. After a two-decade-long career, he went back to the drawing board. Following a brief stint as a salesperson for wholesale automotive parts, Waltz found himself drawn back to the operations side of the business – something he describes as his comfort zone. When he saw an open position at Bermex, he threw his name into the hat and two weeks later was offered the position.
He’s been serving as an operations manager out of the Columbus, Ohio office for nearly five months now and admits the utility industry has been a learning curve.
To help make his transition smoother, Waltz says he’s been leaning on other Bermex supervisors and field technicians to help him learn. “I’ve made a point to do a ride-along with at least one technician from every project so I can see what it’s like out there in the field. That’s been tremendously helpful,” said Waltz.
Waltz has found gaining the trust of the field employees and seeing improvements in their performance to be the most rewarding. He’s also found an appreciation for the level of importance that surrounds safety at Bermex and its sister companies.
“I came from an industry where safety was paramount. We had 500-some vehicles on the road every day, handling glass and material handling equipment. There were lots of chances for incidents to happen,” shared Waltz. “At Bermex we have safety tailboards, daily safety updates, incident reporting, and more – things that I’m accustomed to. The Bermex organization goes out of the way to show employees they’re concerned about safety.”
