50 Year Employee Barrett to Retire From Earnest Machine Products

John Wolz

Fifty years ago Tom Barrett started as a truck driver with Earnest Machine Products. He will retire as executive vice president in 2007.

Barrett originally planned to attend college on a football scholarship until a knee injury shattered his dream. Instead in 1956 he began driving an Earnest truck but soon transitioned into inventory control. After a military stint, Barrett returned in a new role of territory sales.
Barrett became Earnest Machine’s first sales manager at age 26.
He rose through the ranks from vice president of sales to vice president of procurement to executive vice president. E-mail: tpb@earnestmachine.com

“Tom”s loyalty toward Earnest Machines has certainly influenced his peers,” vice president of sales/marketing Kirk Zehnder observed. “We owe a great deal of our success to him, ”

Earnest will host a retirement reception at the Ritz Carlton.

Founded in 1948, Earnest Machine is owned and operated by the Zehnder family. Today Earnest Machine carries over 35,000 standard and custom fasteners. Earnest has a branch in Davenport, IA, and is headquartered at 12502 Plaza Dr., Cleveland, OH 44130-1045.l l
Tel: 216 362-1100 or 800 321-3064 Fax 216 362-9970 E-mail: sales@earnestmachine.com Web: earnestmachine.com
�2006 FastenerNews.com