Strom Manufacturing Machinist Earns Outstanding Achievement
Rodolfo Nicolas Baltazar holds his co-workers at Strom Manufacturing in high regard. He explained that a lot of his fellow employees at the Compass Precision operating company are friends both inside and outside of work.
But the biggest influence on Rodolfo’s life has undoubtedly been his parents, Daniel and Fabiana.
“My parents have always been my biggest inspiration,” Rodolfo said. “They’ve been through a lot and done a lot.”
With that inspiration leading the way, Rodolfo has earned the title Compass Precision Employee of the Month for November.
Rodolfo, who serves as a CNC machinist and setup operator at Strom Manufacturing, is the 44th employee that Compass has named its Employee of the Month. He is the third employee from Strom to earn the title.
Fellow setup operator Joel Gonzalez was the latest to hold the honor from Strom in April 2023.
Ironically, it was Joel who introduced Rodolfo to the operating company.
During the 2020 COVID lockdowns, Rodolfo was interested in finding a new job opportunity. At the time, he was working in the packaging room at New Seasons Food in Forest Grove.
Knowing Strom management was searching for a new machinist, Joel recommended Rodolfo. After an interview with Bill Strom, Rodolfo landed the position immediately.
Now three years later, Rodolfo is thankful for the opportunity one of his best friends provided him.
“It was pretty cool getting recommended by him and still being able to work with him at the same time.”
Rodolfo has gone on to make numerous friends at Strom. As a machinist, he runs one or two machines on a daily basis. Over the past year, Rodolfo has also been training to be more involved in the machine setups.
Additionally, he does what he can to pass on to the company’s newer employees what he’s learned.
“The people that I work with. It’s a really good environment to be around,” Rodolfo shared. “We hang out and I know about their lives and parents and stuff like that. It’s definitely a plus to have them learn some of this stuff. Eventually one day, they’re going to have to step up and kind of have to do stuff on their own.”
At the end of the day, though, Rodolfo traces his success back to his parents. He says he does what he can to be there for them as they were for him during his childhood.
“It’s inspiring to know that they didn’t have a lot, but they’ve done a lot with the little that they’ve had.”
Rodolfo is the youngest of five siblings. In his free time, he spends a lot of time with his family. One of his favorite things to do is play video games with his 10 nieces and nephews.
For fun, Rodolfo also likes to try new restaurants. He is a self-described “foodie guy” who is willing to try almost any kind of new food.
Rodolfo was born and raised in the Hillsboro area. He has lived in Cornelius since he was about two years old.