New Carotek Team Members - Q2 2023

Jackson started as a Field Service Technician recently serving the greater Charlotte region. He is responsible for commissioning, calibrating, troubleshooting and repairing a variety of process equipment at our customer’s industrial, commercial, pharmaceutical and municipal sites.

Winston-Salem is where Jackson spent the first 14 years of his life, he then moved to Yadkinville, NC, that is home to him.He attended Forbush High School where he took as many computer and electrical courses as he could, he also was a member of SkillsUSA, and the National Technical Honor Society. He studied Mechatronics Engineering Technology at Surry Community College. Mechatronics is a combination of electrical, computer, mechanical, instrumentation, and robotics training, all in one.

He has worked as a machine operator at Unifi, and a turbine mechanic at Fieldcore GE

Hobbies of his include hunting and fishing, also operating a construction business on the side with some of his friends.One of his most recent projects was building a pole barn.A goal of his is to hog hunt from a helicopter

Juanye has come on board as a Field Service Technician in the Charlotte region. Juanye’s responsibilities include commissioning, calibrating, troubleshooting and repairing a variety of process equipment at our customer’s industrial, commercial, pharmaceutical and municipal sites.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Juanye moved to the Charlotte area in September 2022.

Juanye has an Associate’s Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from Allegheny County Community College.Prior to joining Carotek he held positions as a security guard, parking attendant, UPS, and an assembler.

Juanye is enjoying the travel aspect of his position, looks forward to going to different places and doing different tasks, loves the practical application, and is enjoying the people at Carotek. On the weekends you may find him in the rapids at the White Water Center kayaking or paddle boarding.

David recently started as an Inside Sales Representative in the Marietta, GA office. He is responsible forassisting customers by answering questions and resolving complex problems related to replacement,spare, or new equipment, packages or systems for the Instrumentation Product Line.

He is originally from Williamsport, PA, home of the Little League World Series. David has lived in the Atlanta area for the past ten years, and he now resides in Woodstock, GA

He is a veteran of the United States Army, thank you for your service David! He served as a scout and an armorer, for four years and was in Iraq for 16 months of it.David took Engineering classes at VirginiaMilitary Institute and Business classes at Pennsylvania College of Technology.His professional career involves general manager of a U-Haul location, documentation manager at Gerber Agri International,and time in the plastics injection molding industry.

David enjoys gardening, doing yardwork, playing with his kids, and single player role playing video games.A fun fact about David is that he met his wife sky diving.

Introducing Logan Budzynski, Account Manager in Training in the Business Development Center.

Logan originally hails from Delaware but moved to Columbia, SC at the age of 10. He comes from a sales/business pedigree as his mother was in pharmaceutical sales, his father a CPA. While at Clemson Logan held jobs in Commercial Equipment Sales and Golf Cart Sales. Upon graduation he worked as commercial sales manager for Tidewater Carts

His hobbies include playing pickup basketball, racing scooters, golfing, wake boarding, listening to Podcasts, and he is a huge UFC Fan. Fun fact, Logan was on an AAU basketball team with Zion Williamson and JA Morant, the first two picks in the NBA draft a few years ago. Aside from participating in athletic activities, Logan reports that he is an excellent juggler.

Arian Hall joined Carotek in July as an Inside Sales Representative in our Marietta, GA office. She is responsible for assisting customers by answering questions and resolving complex problems related to replacement, spare, or new equipment, packages or systems for the Instrumentation Product Line.

Arian has lived in the Atlanta area for the past 30 years, residing in Ac worth with her husband Jeff. They have two Chihuahuas, a Great Dane Pit Bull mix, and two cats. Arian attended Northwestern University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and received her MBA from Georgia State University. Prior to Carotek she worked at ESP Inc. for 16 years as an account representative and account manager in the pressure and instrument division. She is very familiar with the process equipment industry and even made the statement during her interview that she “loves instrumentation”.

Hobbies of hers include spending time with her pets, going for long walks, hiking, interior design, and cooking. Her go to meal to prepare is a grilled NY Strip steak, with a baked potato, and asparagus. A fun fact about Arian is that during her time in advertising at a music agency she got to meet and work with Crystal Gayle, Rick Springfield, and Jonathan Cain (keyboardist for Journey), Eddie Rabbit, George Clinton, the Gap Band, the Mighty Clouds of Joy and even Snoop Dogg. Still a music fan today, some of her favorites include Fleetwood Mac,all Yacht Rock and Shuggie Otis.

Arian has begun her white belt training and states that things are going well so far, “although lots to learn.

Austin Blackwell recently came on board as Manager of the Business Development Center, she is responsible for the training of new Account Managers. These responsibilities include: teaching sales techniques, product training, coordinating learning opportunities with principals, oversight of cold calling customers to generate leads, and other sales related functions to develop our future sales workforce.

Austin has an extensive work background in process equipment sales, fourteen years in total. She started her career at TriNova in Outside Sales, then moved on to Endress + Hauser as a Technical Sales Engineer, spent six years in an outside sales role at Vector, and recently relocated to Charlotte in 2020 for an outside sales role with BBP. Her interest in Instrumentation and Sales was influenced heavily by a long line of family members that work in the industry. Austin has an Associate’s degree in Instrumentation from Sowela Technical CC.

Originally she hails from Louisiana, the oldest of five, Austin now lives in Waxhaw. She is very active in the community, volunteering on a regular basis at local food kitchens, mentoring students involved in Future Business Leaders of America, and has hosted exchange students in the past.

Her hobbies include hiking, working out, camping, and backpacking. She has hiked in Switzerland and has road tripped through 35 states.

David recently came onboard as a painter in the Mechanical Shop. His responsibilities include operating a paint sprayer, blast cabinet and other equipment to apply industrial finishes on metals or products. He mixes, matches and applies paint to various surfaces, completing touchups and coordinating large painting projects.

David’s work experience includes a welding position at Edwards Fabrication, Power Coating Technician at Carolina Custom, and Warehouse Associate at Haddon House Distribution. His diverse skill set allows him to work on other projects in the shop aside from Painting.

On his 8.5 acres of land David grows crops and raises animals. Including 250 chickens! As well as goats, ducks, honeybees, and rabbits. His hobbies include golfing, fishing, playing corn hole, watching baseball, and cheering on Clemson football.

David is born and raised in Chester, SC, where he lives with his wife McKenzie and family.

Jeneva is an Inside Sales Representative in our Instrumentation Division. She is responsible for processing quotes, entering orders, supporting the outside sales team, and assisting customers by answering questions or resolving complex problems related to the spare or replacement of products, new equipment, packages or systems for the Instrumentation Division.

Jeneva is from Columbia, SC, but was born in Germany (her father was in the United States Army).Jeneva has lived in Charlotte since 2015. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from South Carolina University. While in college she held a job as a lab technician where she first began working with instrumentation related equipment. Upon graduation she worked at Clariant as an Application Chemist and then CEM as an Application Support Technician and as a field service engineer for Thermo Fischer.

Hobbies include hitting the gym, tending to her 11 plants, including a succulent here in the office, and walking. She also enjoys collecting records and listening to music, 60’s and 70’s Jazz and R&B is among her favorite genres.

Charles Gilliard, welder brings a wealth of welding experience to Carotek and is responsible for applying appropriate welding processes to join, surface, or fabricate parts of metal and other materials. He assists in the assembly of all types of piping systems and SKIDS.

Charles is originally from Hemmingway, SC. He attended Horry Georgetown Technical College, where he received a certificate in welding. Charles has close to twenty years working as a welder and knows all the key techniques including MIG, TIG, Stick, and Flux Core. He is CPR certified, has his OSHA 30 certification, and has leadership experience.

He is a resident of Rock Hill with his wife Jacqueline and family.He enjoys attending high school football games in the Rock Hill area, and watching his beloved Dallas Cowboys on Sundays. If you need a laugh, Charles is the man to go to, he is a self-proclaimed “jokester”.

Corey recently came onboard as an Inside Sales Representative in the Valves Division. Corey is responsible for providing outstanding service to our customers and support to the outside sales staff. He assists customers by answering questions and resolving complex problems related to replacement, spare, or new equipment, packages or systems for the Valves Division.

Corey brings with him a wealth of experience in customer service, including close to ten years at Windstream Communications in Inside Sales, five years as a route driver for Cintas, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty as evidenced by two years as an HVAC installer. Corey studied Business Administration at Rowan Cabarrus CC. He is somewhat of an anomaly, an actual Charlotte native, he was born and raised in the Charlotte area, residing in Concord with his wife Melissa and family. When not doing family activities , Corey enjoys keeping in shape by hitting the gym, and is actively involved in his church. He operates the AV system at Sunday service and helps lead the church men’s group. He is a big Atlanta Braves fan, Carolina Panthers, and boxer Manny Pacquiao is a role model. A hidden talent of his is that he is quite artistic and enjoys drawing.

Jason Herman recently joined Carotek as a Control Panel Technician. Jason’s responsibilities include building control panels according to specifications, including layout and physical mounting of components to the back panel and wiring of all components. Jason will also be spending time in the Mechanical Shop performing conduit work on SKIDS.

His work background includes Inventory Control at Rike Roofing, Lead Mechanical Technician at Mahr Metering Services, warehouse at Optical Experts, and power equipment specialist at the Home Depot. In all, Jason brings over 30 years of mechanical experience to Carotek.

Jason resides in Monroe, NC with his wife, five children, and nephew. When not busy with the kids, Jason enjoys fishing and camping. A hobby of his is fixing up old cars and campers. A lifelong learner,Jason enjoys learning new things.

Sid recently came on board as an Account Manager in the Northeast territory of North Carolina selling Mechanical Products. Sid is responsible for selling pumps, steam, blowers, heat exchangers, and filtration equipment, as well as pump repair services.

Sid’s work experience includes Technical Applications Manager at MasterFlex, Inside Sales at Triangle Process Equipment, and Sales Representative at Le Bleu Water Company, and JH Wholesale. After serving four years in the NAVY straight out of high school, Sid entered the workforce and completed his degree in Industrial Distribution and Logistics from East Carolina University.

Sid is a native of Wilson, NC. Sid’s hobbies include crossfit, gardening, watching Duke basketball, and he is a self proclaimed “gamer”. PUBG: Battlegrounds is his current game of choice. An interesting fact about Sid is that his first experience at sea in the NAVY was the morning of 9/11 on the USS Sullivans. He was a cryptologist in the NAVY, achieving top secret clearance. Thank you for your service Sid!

Joining the Mechanical Integration Group as a Project Manager, please welcome Alex Harkey. In this role, he is responsible for estimating, planning and designing mechanical process skids and electromechanical parts, products and systems associated with industrial equipment. Interacting closely with the client, Shop Supervisor, production, Quality and others, he manages fabrication of the project from start to finish.

Alex’s work experience includes four years as a Mechanical Design Engineer at Record - USA, a manufacturer of automatic door systems and 1+ years as a Mechanical Engineer at Chicago Tube & Iron Power Division, where they fabricate ASME pressure parts and boiler components.

Alex is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of UNC Charlotte, originally from Locust, NC and a recent newlywed. He and his wife, Alissa, have taken on the challenge of remodeling their first home – a fixer upper. When not donning a toolbelt, Alex enjoys going to the movies and participating in many outdoor activities including disc golf and tent camping.

Joining Carotek as a Control Panel Technician, say hello to Evan Strawn. Evan’s responsibilities include fabricating control panels according to specifications, including layout and physical mounting of components to the back panel and wiring of all components.

Prior to joining Carotek, Evan was promoted from Line Lead to Assistant Manager at T & B Concepts. Other experience includes Warehouse Order Selector at Harris Teeter Distribution.

Building computers from scratch, cooking from scratch, movie going and fishing are but a few things Evan enjoys doing in his free time.

Joining Carotek in the Mechanical Shop Supervisor role, please meet Darrlyn (Darryl) Edwards. Darryl is responsible for directing and supervising all mechanical plant operations with overall responsibilities for production, maintenance, quality and other production - related activities to ensure goals and objectives are accomplished within prescribed budget, time frame, purchase order and customer requirements. He replaces Jeff Kimbrell, who has moved to the position of Warehouse Manager.

Darryl is an enthusiastic supervisor eager to contribute to team success. His extensive experience as Owner and Proprietor of Edwards Fabrication (2 years), Shop Superintendent at Eldeco Pipe and Fabrication (5 years) and Shop Superintendent at Industrial Piping, Inc. (18 years) gives him a clear understanding of pipefitting, welding and safety

A Rock Hill, SC native, Darryl attained an Associate of Science in Welding Technology at York Technical College. He is a Certified Welding Instructor, Safety Trained Supervisor Construction and OSHA 30 trained.

He and his wife, Seanda, have five children and three grandchildren. When not spending time with family, he enjoys cooking out, playing cards (is a competitive Spades fanatic!!), rooting for the Tarheels or Chicago Bulls. He and his wife have had enjoyed traveling to many interesting destinations, with a very memorable one - month mission trip to Uganda.