The Willkommen Committee of the New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce recently made a visit to Windings to welcome Jim Gertsen, the new Director of Quality. No stranger to this position, Jim has worked with quality for 35 years!  It is his job to implement operational excellence, and it all starts with the employees, he explained. Getting employees involved in the process of quality, and having those employees who really care about the time and effort they are putting into each product. They are currently starting this training phase which could take 5-6 years. Being an ESOP company definitely makes quality control a little easier. When you’re part owner of the company, the work you put in has more meaning behind it. They want to solve problems by working from the bottom up, starting with the employee and what they think or see, rather than getting management involved right away. Congratulations and welcome, Jim!

In the photo: Kim Hansen, New Ulm Real Estate; Andrea Boettger, Turner Hall; Jim Gertsen, Windings; Amy Pearson, Thrivent Financial.