Emerging Leader Janie Hughes Works to Bridge the Industry’s Generational Gap
Meet Janie Hughes, quality specialist at Horn USA. She has been nominated and chosen as one of Production Machining’s 2018 Emerging Leaders—a young professional making strides as a leader in the industry.
Nine years ago, Janie was a distribution associate by day and a struggling singer-songwriter in the Nashville scene by night. Then a friend told her about a position opening at Horn USA, and that’s where her career began in manufacturing in 2010. Since then, she has filled many roles at the company, including managing inventory and deliveries in the warehouse, entering orders and managing returns in the customer service department, and now leading the company’s quality department as its quality specialist.
Janie supports industry efforts to bridge the generational gap through her participation on the Precision Machine Products Association's (PMPA's) NextGen Committee. As an inaugural member of the committee, she engages with others to develop initiatives to engage and support the next generation of precision machinists. Janie also helps lead Horn USA's Manufacturing Day open house each October, where the company introduces more than 100 high school and middle school students to modern manufacturing. She discusses her career path and what brought her to manufacturing.
“Janie is an invaluable part of the Horn USA team,” says her nominator, David Fabry, operations manager at Horn USA. “She is not afraid of a challenge; each time an opportunity is presented to her, she accepts that role with enthusiasm to support our customers, to improve our business and to elevate the metalworking manufacturing industry.”
Mr. Fabry adds that Janie is responsible for one of the most important aspects of Horn USA's business as the company’s health and safety coordinator. “Janie leads all our safety efforts and training,” he says. “It is through her diligence that all our team members can work in a clean and safe environment and return home safely to their families every day.”
“I love what I do because I get to help employees and customers in so many ways,” Janie says. “I aspire to continue learning about our unique industry, to continue developing our company culture and support teams, and to one day lead from a management role.”
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