December is a month where we think a lot about our families.  When people ask me how many family members I have working here, I reply, “85.”  Every employee feels like family to me.

When I say we are like family I don’t just mean that we “like” each other.  I mean we are not afraid to push and help each other along. And we always have each other’s backs. Like the time a manager ran a power inverter for a sump pump over to another manager’s house during a power outage, so the basement didn’t flood.

Or the time an employee offered to come in on a Saturday to help out a customer, provided they could find someone to watch their grandchild – and the manager volunteered for the job at the office. We have had managers go pick up employees when their cars got stuck in the snow, and more than once loan them their personal vehicles.

Our managers average more than six years at Z-AXIS and I believe that each is the best we have had in their position.  And that is pretty good, considering we have been in business for 28 years! They are a very talented group of people with a great work ethic and have built some wonderful teams in each department. 

We have added almost 40 new employees over the last few years. We figured out a long time ago that offering average pay means you get average employees. Since we want above-average employees, we pay above the local standard rate and offer a medical program unmatched in the area.

We attract the most talented employees and are careful to make sure that their talents are aligned to their jobs: you will see both managers and employees move around the company to jobs where they feel they will be more satisfied.  This has often found people with talents that even they did not know they had. 

This is an incredibly busy month as we are finishing a number of new design projects, getting new products out the door, and meeting increased demand for existing products. We are grateful to have a team that feels like family so we can do this with good cheer, even as we look forward to time with our families later this month.  

In that vein, we will be closed Dec. 24, 25 and 31 and January 1. Happy holidays from all of us!

Sincerely, 
Michael Allen
President, Z-AXIS Inc.