Opportunities are Endless at WTI

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

There is something different every day when you work at Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc.

Mikhail Kristev saw roofing as a career opportunity and hasn’t looked back since joining Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc., a division of Tremco, in 2013. He followed his older brother, Anatoliy, who moved to the United States from Moldova, a small country in between Ukraine and Romania.

“My brother worked as a tech at WTI for four or five years, and at that time he was doing a lot of traveling to Hawaii, Texas and California,” explained Mikhail. “I wanted to go to Hawaii too so I looked into working for the company.” Initially attracted to the company because of the travel opportunities, Mikhail found there was so much more to WTI once he started working there.

According to Mikhail, the economy was not great at the time but he was drawn to the opportunities he saw for career advancement at WTI, in addition to the pay. “It’s hard work at the beginning but if you want to grow and make a career you just need to pay attention, grasp and understand the concepts, and learn quickly. It’s interesting because you are doing different work every day.”

WTI offers numerous opportunities for employees to grow professionally. “There are opportunities to be a roof technician, to perform diagnostics, to focus on maintenance only or do jobsite inspections,” said Mikhail. “After about three years here, I moved into diagnostics where I had the chance to use some fun technology tools on the job like an infrared scanner and even a nuclear tool.” There are also opportunities for high school and college students to work at WTI during the summers. The company has a person designated to train and mentor these students.

Always looking for ways to grow his career, Mikhail moved into his current role as a field resources supervisor for the pacific northwest region. In this role he manages 12 people and is currently hiring a few more. “As a supervisor, I bid the projects for the sales team, I walk the projects with my team, making sure they are safe and take the time to train or teach them,” said Mikhail. “I make sure that they have the right tools for the job too.”

At WTI, Mikhail explained that safety is always in the forefront and is by the book. “With this company you go through OSHA 10 training right away and they give you all the safety gear that you need.” Mikhail shared a story about a new hire that appeared overwhelmed by the bag of gear he was given on his first day. He told Mikhail that at his previous job, working for a fire restoration company, the boss wouldn’t give them safety harnesses. That finally changed when they were responding to a building fire and the local news had footage of them on the roof, not tied off.

Working at WTI “makes you feel like you are worth something. You feel like you’re making a difference,” says Mikhail. “There is a lot of opportunity, it’s not hard production labor but it’s unique and different work each day. If you set your mind to it, in a couple of years it will start paying off for you.”

Sound like a fit for you? You’re in luck because WTI is hiring! Visit their career page/directory to learn more.