Unstoppable People - Zack Stitcher - Engineering Services Supervisor

Milliken’s Unstoppable People series highlights Milliken & Company associates who guide us to success and embody our values: integrity, excellence, innovation, sustainability, and people.

When you think of safety, you often consider the human aspect of the process—training associates to recognize and avoid safety hazards. But there are also the substantive components of safety—building and maintaining machinery, personal protection equipment (PPE), and environmental controls—that have just as big an impact on a safety-first culture. 

 
This is where Zack Stitcher, an engineering services supervisor at Milliken’s Pine Mountain Plant, spends his time. Overseeing the engineering aspects of this textile plant and paying close attention to the electrical side, Zack contributes to the safety culture at Pine Mountain by making sure things are running and running right. 

“Milliken is probably the most safety-conscious company I've been in my career. Not a day goes by without our team making incremental changes to make our plant safer. Other places might overlook these seemingly small concerns. Here at Milliken, no matter how small that issue may be, if it's a safety concern, we want to address it, and everybody's willing and ready to step up.” 

Zack’s work runs the gamut of engineering and then some. He was instrumental in revitalizing the PPE program for the plant’s electrical workers, subsidizing the purchase and standardizing cleaning and servicing protocols. He spends his days supporting plant operations to keep things running as smoothly as possible. 

“I’m a big believer in proper preventive maintenance. It eliminates a lot of your breakdowns and reactive maintenance needs, so even if something is not due for preventive maintenance, I see if we have any needs there that we can work on. Mostly, I look for different opportunities throughout the day to improve our overall runtime.” 

Zack’s proactive approach might stem from his appreciation of problem solving, sharing that he tries to learn everything he can to benefit those around him. It might also come from his upbringing, where he spent time alongside his grandfather and father working on cars and other machinery. They instilled a healthy appreciation of growing your skill sets to be self-reliant. One skill set he’s been working on recently is coaching softball for his kids— admitting that he's mainly focused on having a good time with his family and their friends on the field. 

As a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served for six years as a mechanic, Zack has become an unofficial advocate for veterans working at Pine Mountain. He comes up with small ways to recognize and appreciate veteran associates for their service and hopes to be able to bring together a larger-scale event for Veterans Day this fall—uniting Pine Mountain and four other Milliken plants nearby in Georgia. 

No matter the task, Zack approaches everything with intentionality, and it makes all the difference.  

As one of the safest companies in North America, Milliken believes that safety is not just a priority—it's a core value. Learn how we’re committed to improving safety in manufacturing in and out of our organization. 

Want to join our team of #UnstoppablePeople? Visit our careers webpage to learn more about your next opportunity.

Do you know an Unstoppable Person you’d like to recognize? Nominate them at [email protected].