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That’ s obviously not without challenges and particularly so, during difficult socio-economic events, but we stand by our promises.
“ We strive to always model our values. We have accountability within our own culture, and I think our customers appreciate that. I’ ve been very fortunate to be able to see that unfold over my last 20 years at OPEX. In terms of tenure, I’ m a rookie around here when compared to others. Some members of our team are celebrating 30 or 40 years with the company. Their values and principles align with the company. They’ re committed to the organization, and the organization has been committed to them. So, we have a very high retention rate. We’ ve also had to hire over 800 people in the last five years to keep pace with growth. Many of those individuals are now responsible for continuing to cultivate our culture and thread it throughout the organization.
“ We always prefer,” Drew continues,“ to promote from within and we do that wherever we can. As an example, I recently went down to our sheet metal shop and had a conversation on the floor with a young man who’ s been here for about five years, and told him that his boss speaks extremely highly of him. If he keeps doing what he’ s doing, it won’ t surprise me to still see him here in ten years’ time. We’ ve always tried to prioritize our people. If they work hard and live up to our values, then we take care of them too. OPEX really is a family business.” This family culture and commitment to shared values have been integral to the company’ s longevity as it celebrates 50 years in business.“ This year, all the Stevens family members are flying around the world to sit down in smaller regionalized pockets with our employees. We recognize our employees’ tenure and celebrate the wins and success
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