Manufacturing – it’s what drives the world around us. Our plant workers are the backbone to our company. They work with pride all while manufacturing high-quality paper tubes and cores that our customers can depend on. Meet John Black – 1st Shift Winding Supervisor that has been with Yazoo for 32 years.
John likes to get a jump start on things so it’s no surprise that he’s an early riser at 3:45am. He hops in the shower to wake up, jams out to music while he packs his lunch and writes a note to his wife, makes a protein shake with a banana or fresh pineapple, kisses his wife and puppy goodbye and heads off to work on his short 2-minute commute.
Once he’s at work, he turns his computer on and brings up the production/recut dashboard to see what jobs came in from the night before. He takes the orders that were laid on his desk from 2nd shift and starts scheduling them into production. During scheduling, he will make the necessary adjustments needed in order to get the work out and over to the Recut department on time. Around 5:30am, he meets with a lead and floater to give them key points to focus on and listens to their feedback. John is a people-person and problem-solver so he likes to get others involved as much as possible. At 6am, the winders are fired up to begin the production day and John checks with his crew to see how their night was, all while assisting them with getting their machines ready. At 8am and 11am, you can find John running machines to cover his team going on break. Throughout the remainder of the day, he is communicating with the Shipping and Recut departments to ensure a good flow through the plant. He continues the day with checking on his winding lines to ensure that everything is running smoothly, receives paperwork from Order Prep and separates the orders between the front and back lines then schedules them. John thrives on being a part of a team-oriented company, knowing that he is helping manufacture the highest-quality of paper tubes and cores that industries across the nation can trust.
John credits his tenure at Yazoo to the people and the challenge of making everything flow together. Those two are the driving force behind his 32 years of service, which also include his previous positions of table person, winder operator and lead.
A few fun facts about John:
What would you do if you hit the lottery?: Make sure the older generation in his family as well as his kids are set up for life
Dream vacation: Travel to Ireland and hangout in a real Irish pub with locals
Hobbies: Spending time with his family and puppy, riding his motorcycle, watching his grandchildren play sports, hanging out with his friends while enjoying some beverages, shooting guns and lifting weights
Fun facts: John is a member of the Green Springs Fish and Game, NRA and HOG (Harley Davidson Owners Group)
Sales. It’s a special department that takes a special kind of person to be a part of. No two days are a like and most days, you’re running full-force, never walking. A sales person is also a problem solver and has passion for helping people. Meet Wanda Bankert – a seasoned 20-year-veteran at Yazoo Mills, working in our Sales Department as a Senior Sales Associate, with her primary focus in quoting.
Wanda’s day starts as soon as the alarm goes off at 5:45am. Well, okay, maybe after hitting the snooze button once, for 10 minutes… the day officially starts. She hops in the shower, brews a fresh cup of coffee filled with lots of caffeine needed to power through the work day, finishes getting ready, packs her lunch and then she’s out the door, on her way to work.
Once Wanda arrives at work around 8am, she checks her email for quotes, orders and questions about previous quotes. Her main focus throughout the majority of the day is understanding customer’s needs, finding solutions for their industry and providing a quote for high-quality paper tubes or cores. Wanda is responsible for managing 100+ customer accounts each month as well as setting up new accounts, working with customers on in-line printing, custom printed liners and labels. Additionally, she helps enter orders and assists with volume quotes.
After all of her quotes have gone out for the day, Wanda follows-up with customers on supplied sales quotes and reviews new opportunities with them. For her, it’s all about the customers. She says “I enjoy working with the customers and focusing on their needs for tubes and cores. It’s interesting to hear how they use our products.”
A few fun facts about Wanda:
Dream vacation: Travel out West
Favorite food: Shrimp – anything seafood!
Fun Facts: She loves spending time with family, especially her 8-month-old grandson, visiting local wineries, sitting around a campfire, going shopping for primitive decorations/antiques for her house (loves to decorate) and helps organize a fundraiser at her church every year for Make-A-Wish