Justin Pluff joined Marshall Manufacturing as a NIMS (National Institute of Metalworking Skills) accredited apprentice, and after several years of study and experience, he has proven to be an asset to the company. He helped transition it from a screw machine shop to a CNC Swiss facility, doubling the company’s number of Swiss machines, while also being a trainer and mentor to many of his co-workers.

“Many of us owe our continued success to Justin for providing a strong foundation of knowledge as our mentor and support system,” says Jen Novak, manufacturing engineer at Marshall.

As a teacher of in-house classes on Swiss machining and CNC programming, he makes time to educate himself on the latest software and technology.

Justin’s co-workers say he is the go-to guy at the company for any machining question. He has an outstanding ability with CAD and SolidWorks and a thorough understanding of CNC programs for challenging parts. They say he is quick with solving any problem sent his way. He also helps drive Marshall’s engineering goals, according to the company, and will be a key player in achieving the company’s future goals.

“Justin desires to reduce cycle times and solve quality issues,” says Dan Conrad, customer service manager at Marshall and Justin’s nominator. “He observes a machine or an area of the shop floor and comes up with at least three to five low-cost improvements. His suggestions have saved the company thousands of dollars. He’s a big contributor to our bottom line.”

Justin says he is inspired to dedicate much of his time to training because he wants to give back to an industry that trained him well, and he enjoys seeing the successes of those he has trained. “I hope to pursue difficult machining challenges and pass on the knowledge gained to promote precision machining as not only a trade, but an art.”

To read about other Production Machining 2018 Emerging Leaders, click here.

If you’d like to nominate an Emerging Leader for 2019 or find out more information about the program, click here.