How Growth Builds Careers at Integrity USA

“This is a chapter.” It's something Tom Ehlers tells people who may still be figuring out where their career is headed.

Tom knows something about unexpected paths. Before joining Integrity USA, his own career included ranching, music, military service, law enforcement, retail leadership and human resources.

Each experience was different. Each gave him something he carried forward. There's another side to Tom's advice that's just as important: value the chapter you're in.

It's where you're building skills, gaining experience, taking on responsibility and learning from the people around you.

Look across Integrity USA and you'll see that progression happening in many different ways.

Start With the Foundation

For some, an early chapter begins in technical education.

Our relationship with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology helps students build the fundamentals before continuing that education in a working manufacturing environment.

The classroom provides an important foundation. On the shop floor, that knowledge meets real work, real expectations and experienced people who can explain not only how something is done, but why.

Some of the people helping lead work in our operation today began their careers as TCAT students. Their progression is a reminder that an entry point can become the foundation for a career.

Keep Learning

That growth doesn't stop once someone knows how to do the job.

Riley Bosheers' career has been shaped by a willingness to learn new skills and take on challenges outside his comfort zone. Brenndon's journey reflects a similar commitment to learning, adapting and continually challenging himself to grow. Logan entered manufacturing through a technical-school internship with a goal of expanding his machining knowledge and learning advanced CAD/CAM software. Nearly a decade later, his expertise spans multiple machining disciplines, software platforms and manufacturing processes.

Today, he's also helping train newer members of the team. That's an important transition.

At some point in a career, learning begins to include helping someone else learn.

From Learning to Leading

Growth isn't always marked by a new title. Sometimes it's becoming more confident in a process and other times it's being trusted with a harder problem. It's understanding how your work connects to the next operation, taking ownership of an outcome or becoming the person someone else comes to with a question.

Over time, those experiences add up. That's why developing people is closely connected to how we think about operational excellence.

Advanced equipment expands what we're capable of doing. Strong processes make execution more consistent, but neither reaches its potential without people who continue developing alongside them.

Then Pass It Forward

There's another chapter that matters just as much: becoming the person who helps someone else grow.

Manufacturing depends on knowledge accumulated through experience. An experienced toolmaker explains why a setup matters while a programmer shares a better approach. Someone who's made a mistake before helps another person avoid it while a leader gives someone the opportunity to take on more responsibility.

We've seen that cycle throughout our operation. People learn from experienced colleagues, develop their own way of working and eventually begin passing that knowledge to someone else.

That's how individual growth becomes something bigger. Knowledge moves forward, capability becomes distributed across the team, and the next generation is better prepared to take on what's ahead.

Make This Chapter Count

That's what we think Tom's words capture so well. This is a chapter. Not because where you are today is temporary or unimportant. Quite the opposite. This chapter matters because of what you're building within it.

Maybe you're learning the fundamentals or mastering your craft. Maybe you're stepping into greater responsibility and becoming a leader, or maybe you're at the point where years of experience allow you to invest in someone coming behind you.

Every one of those chapters has value and when they build on one another, they create something bigger than a job. They build a career.