Dura Supreme Cabinetry Celebrates Longest-Serving Employee's 50-Year Milestone

Steve Anderson, a Facilities Technician at Dura Supreme Cabinetry, has recently celebrated his 50th anniversary with the company. This is a rare achievement in the modern workforce, but not so uncommon at Dura Supreme, where many employees have reached milestones of 20, 30 or even 40 years of service. Steve holds the record as the longest-serving employee at Dura Supreme.

Steve joined Dura Supreme on March 27th, 1973, when the company had only 75 employees and operated in a smaller facility in Cokato, Minnesota. He worked in various departments, beginning with Frames and Cabinet Assembly, before finding his niche in maintenance and facility management in 1975. He has been working in this department ever since, advancing his skills and responsibilities for the past 48 years and counting.

When Steve began working at Dura Supreme, the company was growing rapidly, and soon needed a larger space. Steve played a major role in the planning and coordination of the new manufacturing facility and offices that Dura Supreme built in Howard Lake, Minnesota from 1979 to 1980. He also helped with the installation of the machinery and equipment, such as the Air Make-Up Unit for finish, which required a helicopter to lift it to the roof.

“There were all sorts of projects I worked on when we were getting the building up and running. Our plant engineer at the time and I did most of the ductwork and the entire dust collection system,” shared Steve. “One of the projects I’ll never forget was getting the Air Make-Up Unit for finish, which was a large piece of equipment, installed on the roof. After some investigation, it was decided that the best option was to use a helicopter to hoist it to the roof. It was something new, standing up there on the roof waiting for the unit to be lowered so I could take the rigging off with a helicopter over my head.”

Steve also participated in 10 additional facility expansions that Dura Supreme undertook over the years. He is currently involved in the construction of a second manufacturing facility, which has recently opened in Statesville, North Carolina and is hiring rapidly.

“Whether he’s shoveling the snow to help his fellow coworker’s vehicles out of the parking lot in a blizzard, stopping a leak in the breakroom, upgrading the machinery on the factory floor, or building cabinet displays for the next tradeshow, no job is too big or too small for Steve,” shared his co-worker Mandi Juskiewicz, Sr. Design & Marketing Specialist of Sales for Dura Supreme. “He’s always there to save the day!”

Tony Sugaslki, CEO of Dura Supreme Cabinetry announced, “It’s a very special event when an employee makes it to a 40-year anniversary and I’ve been honored to see that milestone happen more than a handful of times throughout my professional career. Until today, I’ve never been in a company that’s had an employee that’s made it to 50 years. It’s a really, really remarkable milestone and accomplishment.”

Tony went on to share “On behalf of the Stotts family, GHK Captial Partners, the entire leadership team, myself, and all of our customers over the past 50 years, we’d like to thank Steve for his incredible contribution to the health and growth to our business, to the welfare of our customers, and for all of the professional relationships he’s built with many of his colleagues throughout the years. It’s a remarkable commitment, an incredible milestone, and it’s exciting to be able to come together and celebrate it with the rest of our dedicated team.”

Steve has had a fulfilling career at Dura Supreme Cabinetry for 50 years and is excited to retire this fall. When asked about his retirement plans, Steve humorously replied, “Well one day a week I’m going to be so lazy, I’m going to wake up in the morning with nothing to do.”