We have just closed out our second month of 2021 and we are off to a great start. Both January and February have proven to be very successful and anticipation is high for a continuance of the same for March.
Chattanooga is settling into their new digs and the Meridian, MS office is up and running, so I am looking forward to great reports from both new locations. Our team is still working on several exciting new ventures in 2021, so make sure to stay tuned for updates. Currently, we have over 200 employee owners on our team and we look forward to adding to those numbers. It truly is an exciting time at TFI.
Our ESOP Advocates will be gathering in Mobile in May for an ESOP seminar that includes creative and dynamic ways to promote ownership. The group has been meeting through virtual platforms up to this point because of travel and distancing protocols, but we believe the worst of the Covid-19 restrictions are behind us and we look forward to this gathering later in May.
Our contractor has been selected for our new building project in Semmes and we will be breaking ground very soon. We are anticipating opening the facility by the end of the year. This new facility will allow our shipping and fabrication teams to relocate less than a mile from manufacturing. When materials are galvanized, they will be directed to the new facility for shipping and storage. This will open floor space for new equipment, thus allowing manufacturing additional room for growth.
This past month we also completed our first class in TF University, part of our envision 2030 plan. This first class centered on professional communication and was a beta test for coaching and training team members on the art of communication. The class was developed and taught by an English professor and the feed-back from the attending employee owners has been great. We are working on rolling this out on a larger scale in the near future.
Our Tulsa team celebrated 10 years as part of the TFI family last month; it’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years. I’m so grateful for all the folks in Tulsa and the wonderful contribution they make to our organization.
Blessings to you,
Billy Duren
President and CEO
Threaded Fasteners, Inc.