Zachary Gastony, 32
Value Stream Manager
Atkore
Zachary started in the electrical industry in 2014 as an intern with nVent (formerly Pentair Thermal Management), eventually becoming a design engineer and moving into As Builts, where he coordinated with the field technicians and ran analysis on field changes, ensuring proper design requirements were met.
“From there I joined Goodman Manufacturing/Daikin as an industrial engineer on its Kaizen & Material flow team,” he recalled. “I started off managing the continuous improvement and material flow for one assembly line. As I grew with the company, I was given responsibility for multiple fabrication, kitting, and assembly lines across the 4.2 million-square-foot facility. I led the material flow design for several plant transitions as well.”
Zachary joined Atkore in early 2019 as a manufacturing engineer, responsible for a variety of continuous improvement activities and the main source of engineering support for the Houston and Kokomo, Ind., facilities. “After about six months I was promoted to value stream manager after my mentor, Doug Ford, retired after nearly 40 years with the company,” he said. “I also acted as interim plant manager for nearly six months while the PM position was being filled. Day-to-day now I manage the manufacturing operations for our Cable Management business here in Houston.”
Coming from an Industrial Engineering degree at Texas A&M and following his now-wife to Houston, the oil and gas industry is what originally brought Zachary into the world of electrical products. “I loved Pentair, they were really great to their people, but the oil and gas side we serviced slowed and I found an opportunity to get into manufacturing and continuous improvement with Goodman, which was much more aligned with my degree,” he said. “It was there that I was really exposed to world-class manufacturing at a large scale. I experienced lots of learning and setting the base to my experience in ‘making stuff.’
“Ultimately I chose to join Atkore, and one of the best parts about my role is the fact that we are a small site (<100 people) backed by the large, successful corporation,” he continued. “I could affect change locally with very little red tape and had the support of a large organization. If I wanted to improve a process, make a change, or try something new—it was as simple as going out to the floor and doing it. I’m empowered and expected to improve processes and make changes as we drive forward.”
Asked about a challenge the industry is currently facing, Zachary pointed the huge growth in the industry over the past few years. “And there is no end in sight!” he noted. “The semiconductor, tech and data, oil and gas, and just generally American manufacturing continues to grow and the industries supporting it will need to grow concurrently. I’m meeting that challenge using the basics: people, processes, and technology. I’ve put a lot of work into developing our personnel, standardizing and improving processes, and increasing our technological capabilities.”
Looking ahead, Zachary said, “The next step would most likely be as a plant manager,” and he likes to think he is already well prepared for it. “I’ve had excellent mentors and have acted in that capacity when needed,” he explained. “I continue to learn every day and try to ask the right questions. Should the opportunity arise to be promoted, I’ve trained and mentored my direct reports and know that they could step into my role without even a hiccup.”
What would Zachary tell someone just entering the industry? “I’d tell them to put learning first, but follow closely behind with a hunger to succeed,” he advised. “Our industry is filled with a generation of people who worked in their roles for decades who are on the brink of retirement. There is a ton of opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge if you just ask.”
Outside of work, Zachary has a variety of hobbies “that are greatly neglected due to a newborn and a toddler!” he laughed. “When I’m not spending time with the family, I’m into woodworking, metalworking, and knife-making; automotive mechanics; computer gaming—really anything that lets me be hands-on and build something. I’m the type of person to see something online and think, ‘I can make that or do that!’”
Each year tED magazine recognizes 30 of the industry’s best and brightest under the age of 35. Please visit tedmag.com/30Under35 for nomination information and updates about the 2024 program. Questions can be sent to tED Editor Misty Byers at mbyers@naed.org.
Tagged with 2023 30 Under 35, 30 under 35, Atkore, people