Gregory Stricker started his 38-year career working for the company on December 5, 1987, which was then named Rockingham Poultry Marketing Coop, Inc. He started working in the Box Room on night shift, first making boxes for the Saw Line. He helped out in Cut-up and some other departments when needed, served as the back-up Lead for many years and is currently the Lead in the Box Room on night shift.
I asked Gregory how much has changed since he started working for the company, and he said there have been many changes in the Box Room and the plant. All aspects of the plant have grown over time; especially the amount of production and technology which have increased. In the Box Room, the change from hand folding boxes to making the boxes by machines has made a big difference.
Gregory and I talked about the supervisors and managers he has worked for during his years with the company. He said he liked them all; they were all fair and treated them well.
When I asked Gregory about the most memorable event he remembers since he started working, he said he remembers well the first night starting up after the big expansion in the early 1990’s. It was such a big change overall and everything went (surprisingly) pretty smooth. The Box Room was made bigger and they still hand folded the boxes then, but eventually machines were installed. They started with one box and lid machine and there was a stapling machine that was used for a while. Now there are more machines and almost all the boxes are glued.
When Gregory isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Kimberly, and their two grandchildren, who are eight and three years old. He helps on the family farm working in the hayfield and also likes tinkering around and working on projects.
What does the future hold for Gregory? He is looking forward to retirement and just enjoying life. He said, “Although after 39-40 years of working, I will have to stop and think of what will be the first thing to do!” Gregory wants to look around, enjoy life, and get used to being awake during the day!
Thank you, Gregory, for your dedication, hard work and loyalty to our Company!
About Pilgrim’s
Pilgrim’s employs more than 56,000 people and operates protein processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K. and continental Europe. The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com
