Spotlight’s On Eugenio Santana

2018 has been a very special year for employee celebrations at Mighty Hook. As you read in the July edition of “The Scoop @ the Hook”, we recently celebrated the 20-year anniversary of our plant manager, Sergio Rivera. But hang on! Mr. Rivera isn’t the only employee marking their many years of service with Mighty Hook. This month, we celebrate the 20-year anniversary of customer service representative, Eugenio Santana.

Whenever you call to order your much-needed hanging and masking solutions, you are setting yourself up to receive both the high-quality products and world-class customer service that you expect from Mighty Hook. Eugenio has always been a caring and determined customer service representative. He is quick to find solutions that will help you to carry out your job at the best price. You may not know it, but Eugenio has not always been part of the customer service team during his time at Mighty Hook. Read on below to hear more about Eugenio’s story.

Every morning, I have the pleasure of walking into the office and hearing your bright and chipper “Hello!” as I walk by. You have been serving some mighty “Hello’s” for 20 years, but not always in the customer service department. Where did you first start when you joined Mighty Hook 20 years ago?

I started working in the welding department. Eventually, I was brought in to help with hand bending. After 1 year, I switched into a position in the shipping department, where I spent 12 years. After that, I was offered a position in the Customer Service department where I have now served for 7 years.

What made you decide to switch to Customer Service?

After 10 years, I had learned a lot about our products. That made me feel like a good candidate for the position, so when it became available and I was offered the job, I said, “Yes!”

What do you find most fulfilling about your current role in customer service? What do you think is the most important work you do in this role?

I like to help our customers select the best product at a reasonable price. The most important part of my job is making sure our customers can get done what they need to, and knowing that I can help with that is something I enjoy.

You’ve been through a lot and learned so much over the last 20 years. What is some advice – work or life-related – that you would like to pass on to us?

Be self-motivating and pay attention to detail. It is the easiest way to succeed and avoid mistakes. Also, you must enjoy something to be the best at it, so love what you do and do what you love.

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Hanging Around with the Mighty Hook Staff

All work and no play makes us all a bit duller, right? We work hard to bring you the best quality service and product that you expect (and deserve!) from Mighty Hook, but sometimes, we need to shake loose from our daily grind.

Check it out! In the last few months, we have hosted a company-wide BBQ; attended the Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies baseball game (Go Cubs!); and participated in the CCAI Northern Illinois Chapter Annual Golf Outing at Blackberry Oaks Golf Course in Bristol, IL (shout out to Kim K. for winning Women’s Longest Drive!) We hope you are having as good a summer as we are!

“Hang in There!”

- The MH Family

The Scoop at the Hook

Hangin’ Around with the Mighty Hook Staff

We here at Mighty Hook pride ourselves on the dutiful diligence of all our employees. We have been blessed (to say the least) with a wonderful group of individuals who fully dedicate themselves to their work, making Mighty Hook the great company that it is today. On April 20th, 2018, we celebrated the 20-year anniversary of one of Mighty Hook’s finest, Sergio Rivera.

Sergio is our long-standing plant manager who has worked tirelessly over the years, making sure that our plant runs with optimal efficiency. He has worked early mornings, late nights, and has even made countless middle-of-the-night runs to make sure that Mighty Hook continues to be the best it can be. We recently sat down with Mr. Rivera to ask him a little bit about his experience at Mighty Hook.

Twenty years is a good chunk of time. You must be immensely proud of the work you do and have done over the years. What were you doing 20 years ago, and how did you get started at Mighty Hook?

Twenty years ago I was supervising an electromechanical assembly operation for a commercial printer equipment company. I had initially been hired to crate machines, but one day I was given the opportunity to try sub-assembly, and then main assembly, testing, and troubleshooting. I worked across many departments, including engineering, shipping and receiving, warehouse/stockroom, and countless others. After gathering this experience, I saw an open opportunity at Mighty Hook that allowed me to put all of these skills to work.

What has been your greatest accomplishment at Mighty Hook?

Something I am most proud of is that I have helped to assemble a great team of employees to work in our plant. They are all very hardworking and dedicated and knowing that I get to work with them is something I am proud of.

We all know you for the hard work you put in at Mighty Hook, but we also know you are a proud father, an avid cyclist, and a natural-born green thumb. We are now about halfway through the summer. How many miles have you ridden so far this year, and what have you been growing in your garden?

Although I have had a busy schedule and a small health concern, I have pushed through, against all odds (and against strong winds!), to ride 481 miles! As for my garden, I have a few different crops. My favorite is cucumber, followed closely by lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, onions, beans, and a variety of peppers.

What are your plans for the summer of 2018?

Other than putting a new roof on my house, I plan to reach my goal of cycling 1300 miles.

We have been so happy to have you as part of the MH family for these last 20 years. Do you have any words of wisdom you would like to impart to us and to those who are reading this interview?

It is difficult to get a job done when the resources are limited, but anything can be done when desire, focus, hard work, and dedication are applied.

A New Angle

Sometimes it is difficult for a company to realize that the way it has “always been done” isn’t the very best way it could be done. Years can go by without any change or progress, while CEOs and businesspeople sit in the comforts of tradition and habit, unknowingly missing out on the efficiency and productivity a change could bring.

At Mighty Hook, we try to find you a new perspective or angle, come up with an innovative way of doing things, and increase productivity. We take your common problem and come up with a unique solution. Over the years, it has been great to see companies flourish thanks to the personal solutions we provide.

A while back, we provided a unique system for a company that needed to increase output without breaking the bank or only finding a short-term solution. The Angle Pivot Tooling System is a solution for the common problem of low output on the coating line due to space requirements between parts…

To read this full article by Scott Rempala, click here.