Employee-Owner Profiles is a new feature that will highlight members of our team. As an employee-owned company, Sentry Equipment believes that employee ownership makes a difference. Our employee-owners are dedicated to hard work, positive results and continual improvement and innovation to provide our customers the highest quality products and services.
Marcease Warren joined Sentry Equipment 14 years ago through the engineering co-op program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where he was majoring in mechanical engineering. When he drove out to the company headquarters 45 minutes West of Milwaukee for the first time, the Palatine, Ill. native felt like he was leaving everything familiar behind. But he was immediately impressed by the welcoming atmosphere from the top down.
First Impressions
“The friendly, open-door policy impressed me right away,” says Warren. “The CEO even interviewed me, which I wasn’t expecting. The fact he took the time to interview interns was amazing to me.”
Warren says that team approach is a hallmark of how the company works with both customers and employee-owners.
“There’s a willingness to help everyone,” he says. “I can approach anyone to get the information I need. They don’t pass you off – they check in and make sure you get what you need. They’ll do anything to help.”
Marcease came to Sentry in 2007 as our first hire through the Marquette co-op, then joined the staff full-time in 2008 as the company’s first manufacturing engineer in a department of one. Now he oversees a four-person department, including three mechanical engineers and a maintenance tech, as the Manufacturing Engineering Supervisor.
Marcease Warren
Director of supply chain operations
Dream job: "Mechanical engineer. “I can’t picture doing anything else.”
Favorite book: Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Nickname: Cease
Did he know how to pronounce Oconomowoc before working at Sentry Equipment?: “I didn’t even know Oconomowoc existed. It took me the whole first summer I worked here to pronounce it.”
Working At Sentry Equipment
A typical day could involve walking the shop floor, troubleshooting issues, designing testing equipment and fixtures, addressing questions from the engineering team, leading shop tours for customers, and reviewing designs from the engineering group. He says he likes the variety of the work and the opportunity that comes with it – a key reason he chose mechanical engineering, as it allows him to work with his hands on a wide variety of projects.
His advice for a new engineer at Sentry Equipment? “Be prepared to work. Don’t expect to come in and just be another number.”
One of the perks of his job is having the latitude to bring ideas to the team and run with them. Warren cites a recent trip to a manufacturing plant in Japan, where he learned about adding robotics to the machine shop. He immediately saw the benefits robotics could offer. “Now we’re a month away from having our first machine tender,” he says.
He also recently visited Cobra Sampling, a Houston-based company Sentry Equipment acquired to create a Tech Center that will better meet the demands of refining and petrochemical customers. He reviewed shop floor processes and the supply chain to assess how to improve those areas.
When not at work, he spends time with his wife Brittany and two pit bulls Mesha and Winter at his home in West Allis just outside Milwaukee. He also coaches a club basketball team at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
At Sentry Equipment, he’s proud to be part of an employee-owner team that supports each other – and customers – with a high level of dedication and willingness to help.
“Everyone’s really committed to giving customers the best experience possible,” he says. “If they don’t know the answer or have the solution, they’ll point you in the right direction.”
Update: As of April 2019, Marcease has taken on the new role of Director of Supply Chain Operations. He still enjoys variety in his days and the new challenges this position brings to his skill-set.
