José
Morales, Jr.

It’s hard to pin down Jose Morales, Jr.— he could be anywhere on the factory floor delivering his signature hands-on coaching in one department to another.

Jose joined Willington Nameplate in 2019 with 13 years of aerospace, manufacturing, machining, and supervisory experience, giving him multiple perspectives from which to guide his operations team.

His aerospace career began with a machining apprenticeship at Barnes Aerospace. After joining the engineering department, he moved into programming for CNC (computer numerical control) machining. After demonstrating his strengths in both areas, Jose was promoted to Supervisor for Large Cases and Small Hangars. At the same time, Jose was leading the apprenticeship program, working with the President of Aerospace and the VP of Human Resources to implement the program for Barnes America. At one point, they collaborated with their counterparts in Germany, where participants and leaders came to the US to exchange ideas and strategies. Jose earned his State of Connecticut Journeyman Certification as a Machinist, demonstrating his extensive training and capabilities in the field.

In 2019, Brett Greene (also formerly from Barnes) recruited Jose to be WNP’s Operations Manager and over the next two years, Jose was immersed in manufacturing training, learning the ins and outs of this new product and its related processes. Lean manufacturing concepts were part of both Brett’s and Jose’s experiences at Barnes and together they teach and implement many efficiency and productivity models across the company.

His years working with the apprenticeship program give Jose a rich and diverse repertoire of communications and leadership skills that he brings to his work every day. He offers support and encouragement through constructive feedback to his team as they learn the standard work for their departments.

As a member of the company’s leadership team, Jose wants everyone to recognize their role in the company’s success. “Training the staff to understand the business, the KPIs, the reasoning behind many decisions is important to me,” says Jose when asked about his role. Jose says he loves coming to work each day, ready to find solutions to any problems that pop up and helping his team be the best at their jobs.