Comau Close-ups

3/10/2010

Comau Close-ups: How Jeff Eckerle calls on farming roots for work philosophy

MCD and system layout manager Jeff Eckerle grew up on a farm. "Everything worked but there was always a better, more efficient way of doing things," he said.

Jeff said he carries that philosophy into his working career. "I'm always trying to improve things; never accepting them as they are."

Jeff manages a team of people who make certain that customers’ needs and expectations are exceeded in the areas of plant integration and systems development.

“I am working on streamlining a process that will help Comau move into the future with even better solutions to systems integration. We are moving toward making the system layouts the center piece and focal point of all projects.”

Jeff says this focus will change the paradigm of the importance of a system layout in regards to the overall success of a project.

In his free time, Jeff enjoys snowmobiling, wood work, bike riding and being outside. He coaches his son’s football and basketball teams and he’s also a Cub Scouts cub master. Jeff has been married for 13 years.

Posted at 7:18 AM by REAVES Krista | Category: Comau Close-ups | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

2/23/2010

Comau Close-ups: Syeda Ghani enjoys global work and travel

Syeda Ghani

As part of Comau’s global resourcing team, Syeda Ghani enjoys interacting with people on a global scale. On any given day, Syeda says she might talk to people in India, Romania, China, Italy and Mexico. She works on the industrial and engineering side to ensure projects are sourced to the proper work centers. Syeda says working at Comau is exciting because there is something new happening each day, and she is learning a lot from various angles of the company in her first five months at Comau.

Coinciding nicely with her global work life, Syeda has enjoyed traveling to many places in the world. She notes Europe and Asia as her favorite places to visit. Her favorite types of food are sushi, Thai, and Middle-eastern food.

In her free time, Syeda teaches and takes yoga classes, shops, reads and spends time with her family and friends. She also enjoys cooking and baking specialty cakes.

Posted at 8:43 AM by REAVES Krista | Category: Comau Close-ups | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

2/1/2010

Comau Close-ups: Still singing after 17 years with Comau

Author: Krista Reaves, Marketing Communications

As you near the printer in the Arlans South facilities at Comau Inc. in Southfield, you might hear the vocal entertainment of Comau Cost Estimator Ryan Dunn.

He says he doesn’t get too many complaints.

“I love the people I work with. Seriously, if I could have picked, I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to work with. To top it off, I think they like me too because they don’t complain too much about my singing.”

Dunn spends his time at work quoting body shop proposals for Body-in-White and Tier customers. When Comau wins a job, he quotes and negotiates engineering changes with customers.

He says his job is like being paid to put puzzles together.

“We gather information from multiple groups, inside and outside of the company. We get the facts and figures from Project Management, Manufacturing, Comau Standards Department, Simulations Group, Mechanical Design, Service Department, Shipping and Field Service and, because we are a global company, we’re constantly forming solutions with Germany, Italy and China.”

Dunn says his department takes all pieces of the information and then develops a proposal that will exceed the customers’ expectation in terms of performance and cost.

“At the end of the day, you have to be a ‘Slinky’. We are encouraged to get the lowest price by sales, and inspired by Design and Manufacturing to get the most hours for their budgets. You have to be able to spring back and start over again with each day and each proposal.”

Hobbies: Video games, fishing, gun range, movies, studying Arabic language

His Perfect Saturday: Sleeping in, breakfast in bed and his wife NOT shopping

Favorite Places to Eat: Texas Roadhouse, Famous Dave’s and Red Lobster

Favorite Travel Spots: Cancun, Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountains

Posted at 10:58 AM by REAVES Krista | Category: Comau Close-ups | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

12/18/2009

Comau Close-ups: Gate keeper of Comau Inc. loves multi-tasking and meeting new people

Author: Krista Reaves, Marketing Communications

When new customers or job candidates come to Comau Inc. in Southfield, Janis Denham is the infamous “voice at the gate”. She grants people access to the company parking lot with the touch of a button, and greets customers and employees as they enter Comau Center.

Upon first glance, one might think Janis is solely focused on being friendly and helpful to visitors, but behind that relaxed, friendly face there is a finely-tuned organizational system. Her responsibilities include managing Comau Inc.’s multi-line phone system, connecting customers to the right employees, managing the time-card system, and even sorting some of the company mail. She monitors and orders office supplies, and helps anyone who walks through the front door of Comau center; employees, customers, vendors, or job candidates. Janis’ biggest challenge at work is multi-tasking; she has to switch effortlessly between her many tasks, but it’s also what keeps her so excited about her career at Comau.

“My favorite thing about working at Comau is the people I meet everyday, whether it be an employee I’ve known since I started with Comau five years ago, or a brand new customer I’m seeing for the first time.”

Hobbies: She enjoys reading, bowling and going to the spa.

Family: The youngest of four girls, Janis has one son and three granddaughters and enjoys spending time with her mother; along with friends she considers family.

Food: She loves the seafood at Mitchell’s Fish Market, her favorite restaurant.

Travel: Janis’ attitude toward the people she sees everyday is a reflection of her favorite place to travel. “I love traveling down south because the people are so friendly and kind, welcoming everyone with great hospitality,” she said.

Posted at 9:12 AM by REAVES Krista | Category: Comau Close-ups | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (1)