Darin Werts, MKT
Manufacturing Inc.
Doing whatever needs to be done
CAREER STORY
By Nick Mistretta For Darin Werts, the lessons learned at a
young age have proved instrumental in
his success as an adult in the pile driving
industry. And he knows exactly who should get most
of the credit.
Werts has been the VP of manufacturing at MKT
Manufacturing Inc. for the past six years and has been
with the company for a total of 22 years. MKT builds
everything in-house, taking raw materials and transforming
them into finished pile driving equipment
products. But for Werts, it’s his small business mindset
and do-everything attitude that have especially
served him well at MKT.
The valuable lessons of youth
“I grew up in a small town,” said Werts. “My dad and
his father had a Shell service station and my other
grandfather owned a Dodge dealership. The one thing
I learned from them early on was whether you like it
or not, whatever needs to be done on any particular
day, you just have to jump in and do it.”
Werts began his career at MKT in 1993 as a draftsman
after getting his associate degree at Lewis and
Clark Community College in Godfrey, Ill., and following
a brief two-year stint with Central Mining
Equipment Company. He worked his way up the MKT
food chain, which included opening up new projects,
a little bit of research and development and some
work on the production side – all of which eventually
led him to his current role as the VP of manufacturing.
But as Werts says, it wasn’t that cut and dry.
“We’re a small company,” said Werts. “So, when
you change roles, it’s kind of hard to tell. Everybody
here just does whatever needs to be done.”
Wertz says sometimes that includes playing the
role of organizer or project manager, but it almost
always means being a problem solver.
“In my position, you’re going to be thrown curveballs
daily,” said Werts. “Therefore, it’s important to
step back and take a few minutes, rather than make
a snap decision.”
Werts says that when you’re in the manufacturing
industry, trying to maintain the flow of everything
is often the greatest challenge, as is predicting what
will need to be done next. It’s a difficult thing to forecast
future problems before they occur. And with a
combination of humility and humor, Werts added,
“Sometimes my crystal ball doesn’t work very well.”
From drafting classes and architect dreams
to the pile driving industry
Werts always enjoyed
working with his
hands, whether he
was taking drafting
classes in high
school or working
part-time for a
family friend on
the weekends
who built houses.
And while
his initial aim
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