“It never fails to amaze me just how far the work that we do travels,” says FIBA Technologies’ Shop Foreman, Toby Spier. “We see trailers all across the US highways that have been built, serviced and re-tested at FIBA. It speaks volumes that our customers trust us to keep their national fleets on the road.”
Toby is speaking early on a Monday morning from FIBA’s East Greenville, PA plant. “I like to arrive early, before my team is here, to prep the tasks and check we’re ready for whatever the day can throw at us,” he says.
He is joined in the office by two other early birds, his mentors Harold Ballou and Mike Poltorak, both highly experienced in the servicing and re-testing of high pressure tube trailers and cryogenic trailers. Harold is the PA Plant Manager, while Mike’s national role means he oversees improved efficiencies at all of FIBA’s seven service centres right across the US.
“We carry out re-hab and re-test services here,” explains Toby. “We have a team of more than 20 people, all highly-skilled in getting the customers’ trailers back on the road quickly and safely.
“While I am responsible for everything that happens on the shopfloor, it’s great to have the input and experience of Mike and Harold as they have done absolutely everything when it comes to stripping down trailers and building them back up.”
A Manual Job Leads to Foreman’s Role
Toby began his FIBA career with a manual role, that of shot blaster.
“I really enjoyed working as a blaster,” he says. “It’s satisfying because you see the immediate results of your work. I joined FIBA because I was recommended to apply for a job by a friend. That was back in 2015, and it was made clear early on that there are plenty of opportunities to learn and grow here, if I was willing to work hard.
“I soon moved on to working on ton vessels, the small tubes that come in for service. I was responsible for the whole process – disassembling the packs, blasting the tubes, the lot.”
It was during this role that Toby learned about trailers, with much of his education being credited to his colleague James Wetzel.
“James trusted me and once I was up to speed I took more and more responsibility, which felt great,” Toby explains.
In the following years Toby’s hard work and eagerness to learn paid dividends. His work on trailers saw him promoted to being lead assembler, to which he later added the role of shift supervisor.
This prepared Toby for being made Shop Foreman. His experience means that he can turn his hand to any issue that arises.
“After my morning meeting with Mike and Harold, the team arrives and I run through their actions for the day,” says Toby. “We’ve got a great set of people here and they know their roles well, but we all agree that standards are what drives everything we do. Procedures change and some customers have different requirements to others, so we have to keep on top of all of this.
“If an issue arises on the shopfloor then we have to address it and keep the customer informed of any matters that may affect them. Communication is important.
“Because the East Greenville plant is so well-established customers send their trailers here from all over the US. As a team we are really proud of being a small part in our customers’ nationwide presence and it’s certainly a thrill to see trailers we have serviced when we pass them on the road.”