Keeping Up with Mark Russ

Before joining the Eaglestone team in 2013, Mark Russ learned to problem solve by working in assembly, construction and remodeling. When a friend told him about an opening in our assembly department, Mark was eager to give it a try. He liked the idea of having steady work in a smaller organization. It wasn’t long before he was applying his skills to building conveyors. He dove right in, helping to take blank concrete floors to five operational lines. His ability to learn new skills and think on his feet helped keep momentum going during the process. In just a couple of years he worked his way up from Assembler to Lead Assembler to Shop Foreman.

Commando Engineering
In his current position, Mark oversees the shop and acts as on-site lead for service and installation calls. While he works within a 30-mile radius most of the time, he has traveled nationwide, including Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Utah and Virginia. In the field, he enjoys facing each day with a new set of challenges unique to each customer. His ability to improvise solutions on the fly is a real asset.

Mark’s next career goal is to complete PLC certification at Elgin Community College. He is taking courses that provide the basic technical skills and knowledge necessary to work with programmable logic control systems typically found in a manufacturing environment like ours. The goal is to bring this expertise in-house, which gives us more process control. 

Recreation and Renovation
When not working, Mark likes to bike, work out and be dragged around dog parks and trails by his 170-pound Newfoundland. An outfielder and catcher in high school, he continues to play 12 and 16-inch softball in competitive leagues in Carol Stream, St. Charles, Villa Park and Mt. Prospect. He comes by this talent naturally, as both his father and brother are enshrined in the Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame.

With a new arrival to the household expected shortly after Thanksgiving, he continues to use his construction skills to renovate a recently purchased house, including a brand new nursery. He likes to do the work himself, but admits there are times when his buddies are useful for the heavy lifting.