Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Ziegler.
Shawn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started in the plumbing and pipefitting field way back in 2008. I started out at Crawford Mechanical Services as a first-year Apprentice. I worked at Crawford Mechanical Services for two years I was going through the Crawford Plumbing apprenticeship program. Didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with the Crawford management so I moved on to gutridge Plumbing based out of Newark Ohio. I work for gutridge for 2 years. I was offered another job while at gutridge with Freeland Mechanical Services out of Columbus Ohio where I finished my apprenticeship program with the aphc out of Columbus Ohio. Once I finished the apprenticeship program I received my journeyman certificate for the state of Ohio. I was working on a construction project and ran into an old buddy of mine who works for engineering Excellence out of Cincinnati Ohio and he told me that they were looking for a good pipefitter and that he wanted to recommend me for the open position that is an excellent at. So I applied to engineering excellence and I was hired. I was hired as a journeyman pipefitter and the special projects Department. I worked at engineering Excellence which is now known as intervise for 7 years at inner thighs I was in the special projects department and we specialized in Chiller replacements, boiler replacements, we would do rooftop unit replacements. Enterprise was a service-based company so we did a lot of smaller retrofit jobs in swap outs. After working at Enterprise for 7 years I realized I wasn’t really moving up the ladder as fast as I wanted to so I started to seek other employment and I landed at G mechanical out of Columbus Ohio where I was hired on as a senior pipefitter Foreman. The first job that I ran as a foreman for G&G mechanical was a 3 million-dollar mechanical project for the Dave Thomas adoption Foundation we completely gutted and renovated a building and Dublin Ohio that was going to serve as the headquarters for Dave Thomas’s adoption Foundation. I finished that job with G mechanical and a very timely fashion and way under budget. And my short time at G mechanical I was approached by another former coworker who had a job opening at his company which is feldkamp Enterprises out of Cincinnati Ohio. I was hired by feldkamp’s Enterprises. At feldkamp Enterprises I have worked for roughly two years now I have been in charge of multiple big projects one being a roughly 1 million dollar project at the Ohio State University one of their engineering buildings. The biggest job I’ve ran to date for feldkamp’s would be the newest Dublin Schools District Middle School and Dublin Ohio. Where we installed 150 + V A V Systems two brand new state-of-the-art boilers a brand new chiller and a few miles of 5 inch Victaulic pipe throughout the building. Currently at feldkamp I am running the Westerville Police Department Mayor’s Court facility in Westerville Ohio. I have currently moved into a field superintendent position with feldkamp Enterprises where I oversee multiple projects from a Manpower standpoint also I do most of the takeoffs in the field for the mechanical side. So I do a lot of the material handling and ordering. While also running the mayor’s court and police department. I am currently looking into taking some project management courses so that I can continue to climb the corporate ladder and the plumbing and pipefitting Industry.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For me it has been a relatively smooth Road. Not too many Downs. Quite a few ups. I don’t know that in my time doing pipe fitting and plumbing I’ve ever been a part of a project that hasn’t made money or been profitable for the companies I’ve worked for. I’ve had the opportunity to work with great co-workers who I have learned an extreme I have gained an extreme amount of Knowledge from. There have been a few employees co-employees long the way that I bumped heads with but you’re going to have that. But honestly for the most part my journey in the construction plumbing pipe fitting industry has been pretty good I really do not have any complaints. The industry has been very good to me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a certified Plumbing and pipe fitting journeyman, Foreman, field superintendent. I work for a mechanical company that installs mechanical systems for new buildings and some retrofit buildings. We typically typically go into an empty building and we install all the mechanical needs of the building from hydronic piping, to all of the Supply Air Duct return air duct exhaust duct. We installed new equipment rooftop units eru units boilers chillers cooling towers VA vs heat pumps hydraulic pumps. I would say in the industry I am known best for my work ethic I am a committed employee I am at work an hour early every day I’m usually the last one to leave the job site I I put a passion in my work when I when I’m in the field installing I will not leave unless everything is up to par I am very anal retentive about the way things look so I try to make my work look the best that it can. So I am well known in the trade for my expert craftsmanship. I am now in a management role so I am gaining the reputation in the field as being a great leader of younger men. We have quite a few apprentices that work for our company and I have two or three that worked directly under me so every day I go to work I look at it as a challenge to try to teach the younger generation you know the same same qualities that were instilled in Me by the older pipe fitting generation debt I worked with growing up. I think some of the things that set me apart from others are what I’ve already talked about in this paragraph. I have a very strong work ethic I don’t like to be a failure so I do everything in my power to make sure the company Mike my crew of guys and myself are as successful as we can be you know whatever it takes I’m willing to go the extra mile to make sure everyone around me is as accessible as they can be. That means calling guys and waking him up in the morning to get him to work on time picking you guys up for work you know if the cars are and this disrepair. You know that that means buying lunch for the guys on a weekly basis to keep the morale up on the job site I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep my guys going and to keep my guys successful.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Honestly the thing that matters to me the most are my children and my grandchildren. I may come off like a grumpy old man sometimes. But I’m very Stern with my children and grandchildren as my grandfather and my father were with me. I’m trying to instill in my children at a young age you know what’s right and what’s wrong what is going to be expected of them in life and some of the challenges that they’re going to face in life. So you know my kids and my grandchildren my family that is number one in my life I do anything and everything I can for my family to make sure that they’re happy and if they can be successful same as I do with my guys at work I want everyone around me that’s in my life to be successful and whatever it is they choose to do and their lives.
Contact Info:
- Email: zig50animal@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zig_pipes/
