Tessa Gratzer, Springville Plant Clerk, has been with US Aggregates® for a year in September. Every day, her goal is to leave the Springville quarry having brightened someone’s day and contributed to the team’s overall success and productivity.
She has had a unique journey to the aggregates industry. She joined our team with experience in the insurance and healthcare industries and has had family who worked in the coal mining industry. Tessa received her bachelor’s degree in insurance and risk management from Indiana State University. After working in the insurance space for several years, she had two children that had brain injuries, which led her to become a certified Anat Baniel Method NeuroMovement Practitioner. NeuroMovement is an alternative to physical therapy that uses movement to create neural connections. For years she had her own practice in Bedford, Indiana, and worked with people with traumatic brain injuries.
Plant Manager Joe Long is grateful for Tessa’s commitment to going above and beyond in all her responsibilities and her strong customer service skills. “Tessa has devoted countless hours to organizing the office and streamlining process improvements by utilizing her learnings from Lean Six Sigma 5S methodology,” shared Joe. 5S is a framework that focuses on creating a structured and organized workspace: sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain the cycle.
Her daily responsibilities as a scale clerk involve weighing trucks, printing tickets, managing visitors and assisting the sales team in product delivery. You may also find her juggling customer phone calls, maintaining visitor documentation and assisting the plant manager with any clerical needs throughout the day as well.
Tessa highlighted that she has really enjoyed learning more about the aggregate industry and establishing meaningful relationships with customers. She also has worked on using digital resources to increase productivity and minimize waste across the quarry. She encourages new plant clerks to ask lots of questions and to take note of industry language and definitions. She even recommends setting alarms to get up and move throughout the day.
In her leisure time, Tessa loves dabbling in all things art, from designing her own jewelry to painting, stone carving and photography. She also shared that her three children and three stepchildren keep her entertained and occupied with their own personal sitcom at home.
Thank you, Tessa for always bringing joy to everyone you cross paths with. US Aggregates appreciates the passion and excellence you bring to Springville every day!
Tessa Gratzer, Joe Long and Anthony Treadaway contributed to this article
