SUZHOU, CHINA (11/30/18) – Members of The L. S. Starrett Company’s U.S. facilities traveled to Suzhou, China in November to join employees there in celebrating the first Starrett Suzhou 20 Year Club.
Emerson Leme, Head of High End Metrology; Phil Cote, Works Manager; and Ira Friedman, Precision Tool Education Manager; traveled to spend 12 days promoting the brand and celebrating the anniversary.
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At the company’s headquarters in Athol, Massachusetts, a 25 Year Club dinner is held each year, honoring employees who have been with Starrett 25 years or more. Each new member receives a specially engraved watch.
A gala dinner was held for the Suzhou employees, embellished with champagne and kind words. Phil Cote, who was among the original training group that established the Suzhou plant, gave a speech to honor the employees – some he has known for two decades.
“Congratulating the employees I worked and trained with since 1998 is humbling,” Cote said. “I will always be proud of the Starrett Suzhou team.”
A collection of gold letter balloons spelled out “Starrett 20 Years Club” for people to pose against. Each club member received a mosaic gold necklace with the Starrett logo on it.
“The food flowed, and the people simply had a delightful time. Not one person wanted to leave, including me,” said Ira Friedman.
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Thirteen employees marked 20 years at the Suzhou facility: Sun Ou, named President of the 20 Year Club being the first ever employee hired at the facility; Fei Ming; Cai Hui Qin; Bao Zhi Wen; Xu Yu Ling; Zhu Guo Zhen; Huang Su Lin; Zhou Xu Wen; Lu Hong Mei, now retired; Jin Zhong Yin; Zhan Yi Ping; Lei Lan; and Wang Su Qi, now retired.
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While in the country, Ira Friedman worked with area schools and universities to either introduce or strengthen Starrett Education in their curriculums. “We now have our first Starrett Demo room installation in a school in Suzhou,” Friedman said. He plans to continue working closely with other training schools, as well as companies, to implement the use of Starrett tools and gages there.