Two days after his high school graduation, Ed Fisher punched in for his first shift at a machine shop in his hometown of Salem, Ohio. Jimmy Carter was the president. The movie Star Wars won six academy awards. And the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees flooded American airwaves. Forty-five years later, Fisher is still punching in at Hunt Valve, which engineers, manufactures and services valves for the defense, industrial and energy industries.
As the company’s longest-tenured employee, Fisher has worked nearly every job possible within the company. The machine trade skill classes he took at Salem High School prepared him to be a union machinist, his first job. He then spent years on different shifts and in different supervisory roles before stepping into his current position as Hunt’s machine shop supervisor. His career with Hunt has allowed him to earn a good living and raise a family, all within three miles of his childhood home.
For Fisher, having staying power means committing to success despite industry shifts, and changes in ownership and management. While those changes haven’t always been easy, he said adapting to change is part of what makes the job rewarding. It’s never boring, and there’s always an opportunity to learn something new.
With decades of hands-on experience, Fisher has grown to become someone employees now seek out when they have suggestions or need something changed. He has an open door, encourages employee engagement, and is eager for a continued uptick in business as FMD expands. Fisher’s service to Hunt, and by extension – to the U.S. Navy – hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Last year while touring the shop, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tom Anderson presented Fisher with one of his military coins, a gesture of appreciation for Fisher’s hard work and commitment to excellence. During the site visit, another Salem High grad, Susan Mainwaiting, summed it up best when she told the Salem News that “Ed’s contributions can be tied back to thousands of valves in service across the Navy fleet.” Fisher may not have left home, but after a lifetime of service to the company, his work sure has traveled far.
