March 2, 2018
Colleague Focus – Meet Max Shi
The newest installment of Colleague Focus features Max Shi, one of our Chinese peers that works in the Taizhou manufacturing facility. Max began his career with Mar-Bal in October of 2013 as a Quality Consultant and since then has been named Production Manager of the plant in Taizhou. When reflecting on his involvement in the plant’s opening, he characterizes the time as amazing and recalls his eagerness to face any challenges that could arise. “The most important part was team building. We had the same mission and respected each other. Everybody is talented and complements each other well”.
Throughout his career Max gained experience in quality, purchasing, sourcing and within the technical aspects of the composites industry but was looking for an opportunity that would allow him to combine all of those collective skills into one position. Soon after he began his search, Max came across the opening at Mar-Bal that allowed him to do just that, describing the moment as “A gift from God”.
Several instances immediately come to mind for Max when asked about his proudest moments with the company. The first outgoing shipment at the plant and receiving ISO certification rank high, however recently when Mar-Bal’s American and Chinese colleagues gathered to celebrate our Taizhou facility’s opening which included members of the Executive Team tops his list. “People are the most valuable part of the company and our people make me proud”.
When talking to Max, it doesn’t take long to realize he holds his co-workers in high regard indicating that each of them are nice, result-oriented and always willing to assist each other. He attributes this in part to Mar-Bal’s company culture – “The quality of the environment has the ability to change people.”
Growing up within a small village located in northern China, Max says that he and his family would often eat noodles with different flavor combinations which was common in that area. Although he left his hometown over 20 years ago, moving to southern China and growing accustomed to its cuisine, he still loves eating the noodles with tomato and Doufu sauce from his childhood.
Max’s free time is usually spent with his wife taking their children to playgrounds and parks but when he has some time alone he enjoys reading and watching television or movies. Each year he and his wife pick a different vacation destination for the family in an attempt to show their children as much of the world as they can. His favorite location so far is Xi’an where he spent four years in college because he enjoys the food, people and culture of the area.
We would like to thank Max for all of his kind words and want him to know that his co-workers are just as fond of him due to his considerate nature, dedication to the company and hard work.