Kevin Krueger’s career with Sentry Equipment started like so many careers did in 1993 – with a job posting in a newspaper.

His relatives encouraged him to apply because they’d heard about Sentry Equipment’s great reputation. On their advice, he spent the next nine years with Sentry Equipment before leaving for another opportunity. But he missed the Sentry team and the employee-owned culture, so he decided to rejoin the company in 2010. Ten years later, he knows there is nowhere else he’d rather be.

“The Sentry ESOP Culture drives awareness of employee impact on the company. Everyone strives for excellence because we all have a stake in the company,” says Kevin.

In his total of 19 years with the company, he’s worked as a shop assistant and assembler, in customer service and quoting, as a field service tech and supervisor, and as a Project Manager. In his current role as a shop supervisor at the Process Monitoring Tech Center (PMTC) in Houston, Texas, he appreciates the independence and trust the company has staked in him.

“I have autonomy and flexibility, with the freedom to explore different titles, expertise and training,” he says.

As a shop supervisor, he shoulders a lot of roles occupied by various people at Sentry’s headquarters in Oconomowoc, WI. This requires him to stay on top of everything in the shop and juggle multiple tasks simultaneously to ensure that each project is being completed properly and efficiently.

His days start with daily production meetings. From there, he reviews jobs within shop and ensures all parts are available. Then, he looks at the job pace to ensure the shop is maintaining a smooth flow of jobs coming in and meeting deadlines. He also assists assemblers, shippers and other team members as needed to ensure they have the tools necessary to do their jobs.

Kevin Krueger

Shop Supervisor

Three things he’d take on a deserted island: “TV or satellite for sports, pizza and beer, and set of bags and bag boards.”

What does he do when he’s not working? “I love to go camping and be outdoors. I often take day trips to the beach or to Galveston. I love the open road, so I prefer to cruise in a car over flying. I also enjoy trying out different restaurants.”

If you could be or do anything else, what would it be? “I’d love to customize cars.”

Building a stronger future through customer satisfaction

“I always strive for job perfection. I want to make sure things are done correctly and efficiently so I can be proud that the product produced is correct and of quality,” he explains. “I also strive for customer satisfaction. I want both internal and external customers to be happy so that no one leaves disappointed.”

Since he started in 1993, he’s seen the company make significant upgrades to processes and tooling. In the past few years, he’s seen the company make additional strides in implementing advanced technology and process improvements.

“This focus makes our jobs easier, improves our products and leads to improved customer satisfaction,” Kevin says.

His advice for someone coming into the PMTC or the sampling industry is to, “trust the people you work with, put your best foot forward every day, and strive to make your fellow employees and customers happy.”

In the future, he wants to help the PMTC continue to grow and provide more products to local customers, ultimately cutting transport times and improving the customer experience. He’s also looking forward to continuing his career journey with Sentry Equipment by expanding his responsibilities and the PMTC’s shop to provide customers with the best capabilities possible.

“I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” he says. “Sentry Equipment is truly a great place to work. They value their employees and give them room for growth both personally and professionally.”

Employee-Owner Profiles is a regular feature that highlights members of our team. As an employee-owned company, Sentry Equipment believes that employee ownership makes a difference. Our employee-owners are dedicated to hard work, positive results and continual improvement and innovation to provide our customers the highest quality products and services.