A mission-oriented mindset. A sense of shared responsibility. An ability to handle stress. A strong sense of teamwork. These are skills crucial to members of the military, and those same skills make them great candidates to work in construction – either here at Maxim or one of our customers.
That’s why there are 650,000 veterans working on jobsites across the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and more than 120 working full-time at Maxim. Veterans work across the company, including two key leaders. VP of Safety Troy Wagner, who served in the Army, Hoist Division VP Chris Gould, who served in the Navy and Tower Division VP Matt Hyden, who is also Navy veteran. To commemorate Veteran’s Day, we talked to several Maxim veterans about how they’ve put their military experience to work here.
“The industry has a military mindset,” said Anthony Lanza, who served 24 years in the Marines including tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. “There’s a need to be safe, the work requires a lot of planning and there’s a shared commitment to getting the job done. In the military, we refer to that as ‘mission accomplished.’”
Robert “Cory” Price, Service Manager at our Wilder, Kentucky branch, agrees. “My experience in the military taught me to be self-motivated and how to be an effective leader,” Price said. “I learned to work with people to complete something together. I also believe my military experience has taught me to be flexible, which is important because on any given day in our business, things can change in a flash of a second,” he added. Price is an Army veteran who served from 1989-1993, including serving in Desert Shield, Desert Storm and in Somalia.
Maxim values hiring veterans, and Maxim participates in recruiting events looking to attract the 200,000 active-duty members of the military who return to civilian life each year. Veterans interested in joining Maxim can send an email to hiringourheroes@maximcrane.com to learn more about opportunities with the company.
“There are opportunities at Maxim,” Lanza said. “When I go to these (military) career fairs, I run across guys who have the intangible traits we are looking for– leading by example and being accountable.” Lanza credits fellow Marine and Maxim Operational Excellence Lead Dennis Collins for recruiting him to the company, and the two have recruited more veterans to the company. “It’s really awesome what Maxim does to help.”
Joe Morales, another Marine veteran recruited by Collins, said there’s an unofficial veteran recruiting network in California. Morales served in the Marines for 24 years and is the service manager at the Long Beach branch. He notes that veterans are often able to look at an individual’s military experience and be able to see where that person can fit in the company.
“We know what to expect (when we hire a veteran),” Morales said. “The person will be timely, organized and be wearing a clean uniform.” Morales also notes veterans’ keen appreciation for importance of safety and understanding of logistics makes them a great fit at Maxim. “A big part of what veterans do is moving people and materials. That applies to what we do here.”
Price adds that veterans come to the job with a “can do” attitude. “I can ask someone to do something at 3 o’clock on a Friday and know it won’t be a problem,” he said.
Maxim appreciates the contributions veteran team members have made and continues to work toward being an employer of choice for veterans. Happy Veterans Day!
