LYNDA HARGRODERQ: What is your favorite lunch routine?
A: Joining John for lunch at Café Rio.
Q: What projects were particularly interesting, exciting, or challenging that you would like to reflect on?
A: I’ve actually never worked on a project, sorry. However, I have worked closely with customers that have been very challenging. Newfield was extremely challenging, mostly because we worked on over 1,000 projects. Keeping the charges and invoices straight was extremely challenging, but also rewarding.
Q: Who has been your favorite customer (company / individual) and why?
A: Jimmy Acy with QEP by far my favorite. He is always so polite and easy to get along with.
Q: What company / office sponsored event did you enjoy most and why?
A: Rocky Mountain Christmas party in Park City a few years ago. Everyone danced, and stayed until the end. It was so much fun seeing everyone up there having a blast.
Q: When were you proudest to be a part of the Champion team?
A: When I was asked to take over the recruiting position. This was my favorite job. I loved meeting people and discussing Champion with them. I loved seeing their excitement to be coming to work for Champion.
Q: Describe a memory from your first years at Champion.
A: Helping John open his first office here in Salt Lake City. He had 2 employees, it was exciting and I was scared. I had no idea how it would turn out, but I was so proud to be a part of it!
Q: In your opinion, what is the #1 improvement you’ve seen take place since you’ve started?
A: The processes of creating documents is much more streamlined.
Q: How are the dynamics at Champion different than when you first started? How are they the same?
A: When I started at Champion it was very small and it had a very family oriented feeling, but now it operates more like a big company. On top of being more structured, I’m sure that I don’t know half of the people that work at Champion these days.
GAUTAM MEHRAQ: What is your favorite lunch routine?
A: Naan wrap filled with Paneer (form of Indian cheese) and a cup of Chai at a restaurant by our office.
Q: Describe a memory from your first years at Champion.
A: I came from a Fortune 300 manufacturing company. It was a huge change for me from a place with 200 people in a building to 120 people in total employees in the company and working with just 10 people in Houston office. Barely in my first couple of weeks, I was amazed to see how much time people were willing to invest voluntarily to help each other and get them up to speed just like a small family would do!!!
Q: What projects were particularly interesting, exciting, or challenging that you would like to reflect on?
A: Modifying a Pipe Upsetter line for minimizing production time was one of my first projects, which was challenging and fun as it involved pretty much everything–VFDs, PLCs and HMI revisions.
Q: Who has been your favorite customer (company / individual) and why?
A: Every customer presents us with unique applications and challenges, but Kinder Morgan and Shell Olympus are a couple of good ones because of the way we have control over the resolutions we provided and improved their operations.
Q: What company / office sponsored event did you enjoy most and why?
A: 2016 summer trip in Port Aransas was great because almost everybody from Houston office was on that trip!!!
Q: When were you proudest to be a part of the Champion team?
A: Commissioning a Silo Grain system on short notice in Sinton, TX, with another co-worker; especially when we just lost a major resource on that project in Corpus Christi. It was a proud moment and it made it even more special when an appreciation email followed from a customer we least expected it from.
Q: Describe a memory from your first years at Champion.
A: Las Vegas trip of 2012 Christmas party is my favorite memory with Champion. It was exciting and so hard for us to believe that my wife confirmed with me about twice that we are actually going to Vegas on a company sponsored trip!!! It was also my first year with Champion and was first time I got to meet the entire company.
Q: In your opinion, what is the #1 improvement you’ve seen take place since you’ve started?
A: Since I started, I have seen how much better we are now when it comes to sharing resources and knowledge with other offices. Whether I’m working on a Lake Charles office project or an Engineer in Salt Lake is working for Houston’s office, this makes sure that we have our customers covered 24-7.
Q: How are the dynamics at Champion different than when you first started? How are they the same?
A: Dynamics are still of a family oriented company which is highly focused towards its growth. I hope and wish we stay the way we are.
Q: What would you like to be working on here at Champion in the future?
A: Large size DCS projects will be exciting to work on. Because of their size and number of stakeholders, that gives more exposure to develop skills like planning, team work and project management.
Q: What is something that you’d like to see Champion do in the next 15 years?
A: Keep exploring new automation markets and innovate new software solutions (including Robotics applications, SCADA software solutions) to expand our services and market share. And eventually grow as a top 10 integrator in the country.
