Ricardo Gervacio
Shipping and Receiving Specialist at CARR Machine & Tool
The best thing that ever happened to Ricardo Gervacio was getting fired from his job in the catering industry and walking through the doors of CARR Machine & Tool. After a year on the job and just 21 years old, Gervacio feels that Manufacturing is the future. This is a place where I want my children to work.
A Family Vibe at CARR Machine & Tool
The best thing that ever happened to Ricardo Richie
Gervacio was getting fired from his job in the catering industry.
My boss actually told me he didn't want me working for him anymore because he wanted something better for me. Then he told me about CNC manufacturing,
says Gervacio.
His boss set him up with two interviews, one a large company and one at CARR Machine & Tool, a 12-person precision machine shop in Elk Grove, Ill.
I came here for my second interview, and I have to say I felt starstruck,” says Gervacio. “I like the vibe and the camaraderie here. It's a small family and feels closer to home in a way.”
Like most people in the world outside of manufacturing, Gervacio, now Shipping and Receiving Specialist, had no idea what CNC even meant. What he brought to CARR Machine was a positive attitude and strong work ethic. With the culture being fostered by owner Jim Carr, that type of attitude will earn you a chance to learn.
Like many family members who grew up in a job shop, Gervacio is working his way up. His day-to-day tasks require identifying materials and components when they come in and labeling them accordingly. When manufacturing is complete, Gervacio brings parts into the shipping and receiving room and creates a label with description, part number and the date manufactured. Parts are bagged and tagged separately, unless specified by the customer.
Gervacio has already seen the difference in a stereotypical job shop with CARR Machine's old space and the company's new 15,000-sq.-ft. building designed to appeal to aerospace and emerging technology customers.
I'm not going to lie. We were here overtime trying to get everything cleaned up, but it's an eye opener going from a musty, oily shop to a brand new, temperature-controlled shop with a clean floor,
he says. I saw this new shop as a way of personally stepping into something bigger.
Gervacio is handling packages now, but his goal is to be a machinist.
To be specific, I'd really like to be on that Haas lathe that we have in our shop,
he says. No one is there at the moment, and I want to take that spot. Manufacturing is the future, and there is immense generational growth. This is a place where I want my children to work and their children to work,
he says.
Gervacio knows that earning a spot on a CNC requires dedication, but he takes the long view, plus he knows he'll have support at home and from his CARR Machine family – and all of them will be attending IMTS. Gervacio is eager to rub shoulders with other job shops at the show so he can see how CARR Machine – a place with floors so clean you practically can eat off them – stacks up against the competition.
Although he is just 21 and isn't even on a machine yet, Gervacio says he wants to go to IMTS “To see what else could help us in our shop, such as new inspection equipment, more machines, better tooling and other accessories.”
After a little more than a year on the job, Gervacio already feels the difference between a job and a career. With catering and working as a chef before that, it was go to work, punch a clock, sleep, and repeat.
Let's just put life at CARR Machine in perspective,
says Gervacio. I worked at my old job for five years and I never bought a car. I worked here for one year and bought a brand new car. I wake up with a smile coming in. I know my guys trust me, and they'll leave me to my job unless I need help.