What’s Inside: Maag Americas Message from VP Featured – MAAG at NPE 2024 New Video – MAAG Gala in local news Employee Appreciation Service Anniversaries Safety Message Signing Safety Pledge Sales Meeting, First Quarter Our People Make The Difference Employee Hobby Employee Interests
January 2024 Newsletter MAAGAZIN
Dear MAAG Americas Team: I hope you had a good Christmas holiday and spent some well-deserved time off with your families! I sincerely thank you for all your efforts to get shipments out of the door during the last days of the year. Our finance teams are working diligently to finalize the numbers and provide the results of the year. Once the closing process is finalized, we will communicate 2023 year-end results during our next Town Hall meetings, soon to be scheduled. For those of you in Eagle Rock, you might have seen that we started on the office renovation which should be completed by the end of January. Many additional actions are planned to update and modernize our facilities overall. The work environment that everyone experiences is a very important topic. Soon you will see a survey asking for ideas, as I want to hear from you and identify meaningful ways we can continue improving across Maag Americas. We are also investing in our future by working with local schools and universities to get new talent into our company. For this, MAAG was recently recognized by the local TV news station for our contribution to the BTEC welding program. If you have not seen the segment on TV, you can look at the video in some of the later pages in this newsletter. Thanks to all of you who made this happen! 2024 will be an exciting year! Happy New Year! Paul Merich VP / GM Maag Americas
One Maag America – Together we can accomplish more
Happy New Year to MAAG Americas! We are excited to announce that MAAG Americas 2024 will be marked as an exhibitor at the world's largest tradeshow for plastics and rubber products, NPE 2024 .
Our 2,500 square foot booth will display MAAG’s portfolio showing the most innovative plastics processing equipment. This exhibition will take place in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center May 6 - 10, 2024. This event is expected to host 55,000 attendees and 2,000 exhibiting companies. This will be the second time MAAG will participate in NPE as a group and will represent MAAG Group’s diverse applications.
New Video
Click to watch the video MAAG Gala in local news!
January Raffle Winners EGR: Ria Jordan Luke Winand Additional Drawings Held Soon!
Congrats to our winners! Tickets for February are yellow Good luck to everyone!
We wish the following people who left in December the best of luck in their future endeavors: Charlotte: Dan Smith
January Anniversaries
Department
Location
Name
Yrs. Of Service
36
Doug Shires
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Jeff Rowland
29
Sales & Marketing
Charlotte
Freddie Tucker
25
Sales & Marketing
Eagle Rock
Anastacio Guerra
23
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Darren Propst
20
Sales & Marketing
Charlotte
Jordan Marosell
12
Manuf. & Operations
Kent
10
Keith McMurry
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Milton Linthicum
10
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Jim Bretzin
7
Sales & Marketing
Kent
Tim Shields
7
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Steven Amicarelli
7
Sales & Marketing
Kent
Walter Thurn
6
Sales & Marketing
Kent
January Anniversaries
Department
Location
Name
Yrs. Of Service
John Morgan
6
Sales & Marketing
Charlotte
Matt Graham
5
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
5
Cody Young
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Olivia Ginger
4
Finance
Eagle Rock
2
Barritt Durbin
Manuf. & Operations
Kent
2
Justin Leitch
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
2
Nicholas Pinto
Sales & Marketing
Eagle Rock
Keith Knott
1
Sales & Marketing
Kent
John Gillispie
1
Manuf. & Operations
Eagle Rock
Angel Cravello
1
Sales & Marketing
Eagle Rock
1
Bob Bolger
Global Sourcing
Eagle Rock
1
Korey Trahan
Sales & Marketing
Kent
Safety First Document
Soon, all will have an opportunity to sign our Safety Pledge for 2024. We are looking forward to achieving a safe year with everyone's focus and diligence.
MAAG Gala employees signing Safety Pledge, 2024
MAAG Americas’ 2024 1st quarter Sales Meeting was held in Charlotte, NC January 9 - 11, 2024. We appreciate your focus on serving our customers and supporting Maag Americas products!
Maintenance Team, Maag Eagle Rock: "Our Team Makes the Difference! We keep the lights on and the machines running!!" ( Thank you all for showing us what it takes to get the job done right including figuring out which way to go! We know you find the answers and solutions and are thankful for your contribution. Thank you for your creativity - and for being the FIRST team to submit your team celebration! Way to go!!! )
Building Custom Motorcycles
Growing up on his grandfather’s horse farm, Walter Thurn, Lead Field Service Technician (Kent), developed a love for all things mechanical. The horses were not his true love – it was the tractors, farm trucks, 3 & 4-wheelers, and dirt bikes that got Walt’s attention. His parents would give him a new toy truck or airplane for Christmas or his birthday and within hours Walt would have the toy dismantled – much to his parent’s chagrin. However, they quickly learned that he wasn’t “destroying” the vehicles but instead figuring out how the parts worked and fit back together. As he grew older, Walt’s interest in building things transitioned from Legos and models to real cars and motorcycles. In other words, the toys just got bigger and more expensive!
Almost every job that Walt has had since becoming old enough to work has involved using mechanical aptitude. In high school, his group of friends would work on their cars adding custom features in their spare time. This hands-on way of learning came with making lots of mistakes, but Walt recognizes that those mistakes were critical to the learning process. In the late 90s, and early 2000’s, Walt became influenced by TV personalities like Jesse James and Ian Roussel. Additionally, with the popular chopper build-off shows and custom motorcycle builders like Indian Larry and Jeff Cochran, Walt wanted to see if he had what it would take to make his own creations. Walt’s custom build process starts with searching for a clean bike. There are no brands that he is tied to but looks for good bones, features that stand out to him, and a reasonable price. He finds most of his bikes online or through word of mouth. Walt says that once the bike is on the lift, it “tells him” what it is going to be; the vision usually becomes crystal clear. Once the vision is decided on, he begins the process of striping down the bike. Doing almost all his own work, Walt then starts the process of assembling the bike with custom parts. Sometimes he will buy parts online other times he will modify the existing parts and fabricate how the parts will fit and/or fasten to the bike. If he can’t buy a part, he will make it. Even purchased parts usually go through some sort of modification before being added to the bike. Once it is attached, if he doesn’t like how it looks, he will redo it. Selling the finished bike is usually done through word of mouth or online. The entire process can take several months to a couple of years depending on the amount of customization. What is Walt’s favorite part? Surprisingly, it isn’t riding. While he does enjoy riding his custom motorcycles, the greatest fun is the search for a new project bike. He loves building things for people he knows because he can get a good understanding of what they are looking for and how their personalities should shine through his work.
Favorite Recipe
Best Friends
One Pot – Taco Pasta This creamy taco pasta recipe is a 30-minute meal that you can make in one pot! 1 cup Cheddar cheese shredded 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
This is Archibald, the pet of Sam Dungan. He is an orange tabby who may also be part beast. Archie was born in 2016 from an adopted stray and is one of a litter of seven. Some of Archie’s favorite things are dinner time, sitting on Sam’s lap (especially while Sam is doing work), and running around outside while visiting his grandparents.
4 oz. Velveeta cheese cut into cubes (equal to 1/3 cup)* (can sub with ¾ cup shredded cheese) 1 lb. Ground Beef 85% lean
1 Tablespoon Butter 2 cloves Garlic minced 1 oz. packet Taco Seasoning 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 Tablespoons Tomato paste 2 cup Chicken broth 1 cup Whole milk at room temp 1 (10 oz.) can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilis (undrained) ½ lb. Medium pasta shells Shred the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese from a block and set aside. It should be near room temperature when added to the pasta sauce. Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium-high heat in a high-walled pot or Dutch oven. Drain grease. Melt the butter in the same pot and add and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add all remaining ingredients except the cheese and pasta. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the pasta and submerge it in the liquid. Cover and cook according to package instructions. Slide a silicone spatula along the bottom of the pot halfway through to lift any ingredients that may be settling to the bottom. Remove cover and ensure the pasta is sufficiently cooked. Taste-test a noodle for doneness before proceeding If needed, cover and cook longer, until your desired doneness is obtained. Turn heat to low. Gradually stir in cheese until melted. There will be plenty of sauce, but it will thicken upon standing and the pasta will continue to absorb it. Serve once desired consistency is obtained.
Recipe provided by Janet Groborchik from thecozycook.com
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