Cheers for 50 Years! by Steve Meiners
Chris Pfoutz is our first 50 year employee! Her recognition caused me to reflect on the trip she (and Crest) have made together over the last 50 years. And what a trip that has been! Chris started here when she was in high school. The only co-pack production lines we had then were in the basement of the building on Main Street where R&D is located. Production days were mea- sured by cases made (because we only had so much room upstairs until the Dean Foods truck came to pack up product). Female line workers had to wear skirts, and if I remember correctly there were very short ones! We made a few stabilizers back then. Very few. All batches made in the back end of the building where Savory/ Consumers R&D is today. Offices were in the front of that build ing, labs in the basement. Product shipped out the back double door a drum at a time onto a truck parked at a 45 degree angle that blocked the street. I am guessing our daily pre-weighs might be more than we blended on any given day back then! There was no 502 Brown Street Plant. The West Warehouse Com- plex was a cattle farm. Pop was a dime…in glass bottles, no cans. It seemed like everybody smoked, all in a very small breakroom. The Pilot Plant was a bar. Chris clawed her way up from the basement and in time became a clerical person. She, no doubt, used a ribbon type writer with carbon paper (no copiers). She might have even used a mimeograph machine (way of dictating way back when). She has trained 7-8 bosses. Maybe more. She has had interaction with hundreds of people including peers, customers, brokers, and suppliers. And she still likely has hard copy files on important documents from the early 1950’s (she’s a saver!). The Story of Chris Pfoutz helps those of you who are new (25 years or less, right Chris?) appreciate where we are today. What started as an idea in a small Midwest village with one main street and no stop
signs has blossomed into a company that has few peers in their field in terms of product quality and service. Chris should be proud of being part of that process. You should all be proud of being part of that process. Few businesses today are founded with an eye on a long future. Many do not make it. Others build up a business just to sell the assets and move on. Being here for 50 years (+) is cause for celebration. Being here as a thriving company who has never changed its name is…well…amazing. Thank you and congratulations to Chris for being part of the team of people who have taken the trip with us! It’s an impressive milestone and we are lucky you’ve been a part of the Crest family for so many years!
April, May & June 2021 Crest Ink 3
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker