In-Line with Fi-Tech – Fall 2021
Jeffrey Bassett
Welcome to our fall 2021 issue of In-Line with Fi-Tech. At this time last year, I believe we all would have expected to have gone back to life as it was before the pandemic of 2020. That has simply not been the case, and most likely, will not be for some time to come. However, we are and will continue to learn and to adapt to our “new normal”. It has been nice to see some in person events return. We were present for the INDA WOW event in Atlanta and exhibited at Techtextil North America in Raleigh.
We are also back to conducting in person customer visits on a regular basis; all being done with precautions and care to help protect one another. It has been really nice to have in person discussions following months on end of online meetings. As we have all adapted to, and accepted this this new technology, we will continue to use it effectively going forward. However, we see the importance of engaging our customers in person whenever possible. This leads to better identification of issues and solutions as well as building solid relationships.
As COVID has brought much change to our daily lives, the last year has brought about some significant changes within Fi-Tech. Since February 2021, we have had three long time “Fi-Techers” retire with over 112 years of combined service – Barb Koch with 34 years, Jon Schmidt with 34 years and Keith Wise with 44 years. We gathered together in late July to celebrate their service and accomplishments. We will not fill their shoes, but we will build upon the strong foundations and tremendous contributions they have made.
Barb Koch & Keith Wise
With retirements come the opportunity for new team members to join our organization. In 2021, we have added three new members in addition to Stein Carlsen who joined us in late 2020. Joshua Sansbury started in mid April followed by Jessica Ethridge in mid April and Lindsey Wanders on June 1. Joshua is on our outside sales team covering customers in Virginia and North Carolina. Jessica is integrating into our textiles sales team while also taking on internal project work, and Lyndsey joins our inside customer service and support team. We are very pleased to have each on board.
In closing, we hope we will continue to be able to connect with you at upcoming planned in person events; although, we know that any such planning can change quite suddenly. Hope to see you soon!
Read Full Newsletter: Fi-Tech 2021 Fall Newsletter