{"493011":{"#nid":"493011","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Steel plant quality and training manager mixes old-school values and technology to further employee careers","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs a child in rural South Carolina, Rogers \u201cOld School\u201d Casteal learned an important lesson about not allowing personal setbacks to dictate one\u2019s future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough his dad wasn\u2019t able to read or write, he managed to become a welder \u2014 the first in the county \u2014 and provide for the family. \u201c\u2018You need to create a life for yourself and be bigger than I am,\u2019\u201d Casteal said, recounting the important life lesson his dad shared with him. \u201c\u2018You have to be the first at something, too.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a lesson Casteal has never forgotten and one he incorporates daily as the quality and training manager at Macuch Steel Products in Augusta, Georgia. In that role, he trains employees on the latest technological advancements in their fields to help them advance and add to the company\u2019s bottom line.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECasteal is the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership\u2019s (GaMEP) January Face of Manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe and the other 365,000 Georgians who work in the manufacturing industry are critical to the success of the Georgia economy. His story is one example of how those who have made a career in manufacturing help their communities remain economically competitive and viable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI thrive off of giving people the opportunity to grow,\u201d Casteal said, explaining that comes from a desire to help others advance in their careers as his mentors helped him in his. It also stems from what he called \u201cold-school\u201d values. \u201cI love God, my family and friends, and my job,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in continuing to better my life and that it\u2019s important to work hard for an honest day\u2019s pay.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s also good business. As someone with more than 45 years in manufacturing, he said he sees how technology and training go hand in hand to help not only the individual employees, but the company as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou need to reinvest in your people. Get them trained and continue to train them on new technologies, new processes, and new ways of thinking,\u201d said Casteal, who also is a minister. \u201cIt will advance them and the manufacturing industry as a whole.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the 2014 Georgia Manufacturing Survey biennial study conducted by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Kennesaw State University, and Habif, Arogeti \u0026amp; Wynne, 29 percent of manufacturers in the state spend no money at all on training. Among those that do pay for training, only 10 percent of those instruction dollars went to new activities and tasks \u2014\u0026nbsp;not including routine education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe just put a team of people through GaMEP\u2019s front-line supervisor training at Georgia Tech, and the outcome is helping us advance ourselves and our company,\u201d Casteal said. \u201cMaybe this is where my \u2018old school\u2019 values come in, but by doing this you are showing you care about your people and are also cutting down on turnover and costs to the company from having to rehire and retrain.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Faces of Manufacturing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach month, GaMEP will highlight a different person as the Face of Manufacturing. Those chosen as the Face of Manufacturing will be selected by a 12-member committee composed of representatives from Georgia Tech, economic development groups, manufacturing companies, and related associations.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Each month the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership profiles Georgians who play a critical role in the industry."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2016-01-29 17:30:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:31","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-29T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-29T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"493031":{"id":"493031","type":"image","title":"Rogers Casteal","body":null,"created":"1454432400","gmt_created":"2016-02-02 17:00:00","changed":"1475895251","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:11","alt":"Rogers Casteal","file":{"fid":"204506","name":"dsc_0438.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0438_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0438_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1796577,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0438_0.jpg?itok=8qMvQ7ug"}}},"media_ids":["493031"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\/portfolio\/honeysuckle-gelato\/","title":"Honeysuckle Gelato - December Faces of Manufacturing"},{"url":"http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\/portfolio\/rogers-old-school-casteal\/","title":"Rogers Casteal"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"121581","name":"Faces of Manufacturing"},{"id":"16331","name":"GaMEP"},{"id":"136201","name":"Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership"},{"id":"170737","name":"Macuch Steel"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EContact Information\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor media inquiries contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information about GaMEP contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKatie Takacs\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGaMEP Marketing Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:katie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekatie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}