Strom Machinist Receives Great Honor
It doesn’t get much better than the string of introductions Strom Manufacturing has experienced the past few years.
After recommendations from a few different people, Chris Salinas began working at the Compass Precision operating company. To reward him for nearly three years of hard work, Compass has named Chris its Employee of the Month for October 2024.
Chris is the 55th employee of the month at Compass since the company began the honor in March 2020. The most recent Strom employee to receive the award was Rodolfo Nicolas Baltazar in Nov. 2023.
Rodolfo was one of three Strom employees who notified Chris of an opening at the company three years ago and recommended him for a role. Another was Joel Gonzalez.
Joel introduced Rodolfo to Strom as well in 2020. Joel also received the Compass employee of the month honor in April 2023.
” Strom has been very fortunate with its hiring,” said Compass COO Billing Canning. “Chris is the latest in a long line of terrific employees Strom has brought in during the last five years. Word of mouth hiring really does work for Strom.”
“Chris has taken over primary responsibility for running our newest horizontal machine,” added Brian Kedroske, Strom’s Co-General Manager & Quality Manager. “He is doing a beautiful job.”
Chris is the fourth Compass employee of the month from Strom. Rodolfo and Joel have been family friends for Chris his entire life.
But that’s not the only reason working at Strom is a family affair. Chris’ younger brother, George, started working at Strom a month prior to him. George was the third recommendation Chris received during his application process with the operating company.
Those relationships are part of what makes working at Strom so special for Chris.
“It’s a great work environment,” Chris said. “Everybody here is very helpful with each other. It’s not like we’re withholding knowledge from each other.
“We’re able to ask some questions, problem solve together and work as a team.”
But Chris’ family influence goes beyond the typical “good word” one receives before a job interview.
Before working at Strom, Chris worked for his father’s roofing company, Black Forest Roofing. He credited his father, Eloy, and mother, Erica, for giving him his strong work ethic.
“At a young age, I learned a really good, hard work ethic. Even if my dad was just mowing the lawn, I wanted to be there to help him out. I’ve seen my dad work hard my whole life and it inspired me to work hard,” said Chris.
“It was nice to see my mother work hard, my father work hard. That’s really what inspired me to be the hard worker that I am today.”
Chris works hard on Strom’s horizontal machines. He particularly enjoys running the NHX 4000 because of the machine’s multi-pallet pool.
In the future, Chris aims to grow as proficient with the company’s vertical mills as he is with the horizontals.
Chris was born and raised in Hillsboro, Oregon. He graduated in the top 10% of the Oregon Youth Challenge Program during high school. He also earned a traditional high school diploma from Forest Grove High.
During school, he worked at an organic tomato farm. That allowed Chris to buy his first car, a Chevrolet Impala, at 15 years old.
Cars are one of Chris’ hobbies. He is currently performing bodywork on a BMW E46 in his spare time.
Chris also enjoys barbecues and fishing. He often hosts his family, which includes nine siblings, in his backyard for weekend gatherings.