Quality Products Names Al Farrar to New Position
CHARLOTTE, NC – May 11, 2023 – Al Farrar has experienced a successful two-plus decades at Quality Products & Machine, LLC. It’s also only going to continue.
Quality Products, a leading manufacturer of precision metal components and fabricated assemblies, officially announced Thursday that it has promoted Al to Fabrication Manager.
“It’s a journey,” Al said when describing his time with the Compass Precision operating company. “We’ve got an amazing group of professionals here to work with. It’s an honor to lead the fab department into the future.”
Al joined Quality Products in 2002. He just so happened to be driving by the company after his tenure with Freightliner Corporation ended. Al noted Quality’s beautiful building and decided to drop off his resume.
The rest is history, as Al has been working at Quality Products ever since then.
”Al is one of those guys you just never have to worry about,” explained Kevin Farmer, President of Quality Products. “He has always been a highly productive employee. He is also a great welder. Now he gets to take his skills to a new level.”
Ironically, welding began as a hobby for Al. He was attending Gaston College for his associates degree in science, taking night classes in welding for fun, when Freightliner took notice of him. Al was motivated to learn welding because of his love for working on cars.
Impressed with his welding from the class, Freightliner offered him a job.
Al started at Quality Products as a welder as well. He served as the company’s lead welder for 18 years before his promotion to fabrication manager.
During his nearly two decades as lead welder, Al Farrar also took on increasing responsibilities in all areas of the company, including safety and lean manufacturing. Those are tasks Al continues to proudly do today.
“I’m not some stranger here working on a computer giving orders,” Al said about his promotion. “I still go out there and weld or debur or form parts. I work shoulder to shoulder with the guys here.”
In many ways, his 20-plus years at Quality Products has uniquely prepared him for his new role as fabrication manager.
“I know the parts. I know what the customers are looking for in the parts,” Al said. “I know what different customers expect and what they really need and the function of each of the parts.