Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine- and medium-pitch custom gears, announced the hire of Jay Hampton as quoting engineer. Previous employee, legacy, and longtime friend of Forest City Gear’s Young family, Hampton returns after more than 25 years.
Hampton started at Forest City Gear as a teenager through connection with his grandmother, Gloria Ryerson, (lovingly dubbed “Grandma G” by the Young family), a hobbing operator from 1969 to 1998. After school and on weekends, Hampton cleaned around the shop, provided maintenance to the grounds, and stood in as a babysitter as needed to now-president Kika Young and shareholder Appy Young.
“Some of the best memories I have of being a kid involve Fred and Wendy Young,” says Hampton. “Wendy and I used to say ‘I love you’ when we saw each other. Our families were that close.”
Hampton joined Forest City Gear as a full-time machine operator in 1987. “I was due to graduate high school, it was like the week of my graduation, when Fred pulled me into his office and asked, ‘Are you going to college?’ ” said Hampton. “And I said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’”
“He said, ‘Well, what are you going to do? My suggestion would be (to) have (yourself) here at 7 o’clock Monday morning,’ ” Hampton laughed. “So that’s what I did. That was just the relationship that Fred and I had.”
Now, as quoting engineer, Hampton will review and generate quotes and work directly with Forest City Gear customers to determine their orders’ special requirements.
“I’m really glad to be back here,” said Hampton. “From the moment I was let in for my interview, it was like this feeling of peace. It was really cool.”
“ ‘Families matter and always will’ is the first Core Value listed on our Core Values posters,” said Forest City Gear president Kika Young. “Having someone so connected to FCG, through his family and through my own family, feels very affirming. Having Jay back at FCG after his grandmother’s legacy here is pretty cool. I think Jay and I are both proud to be carrying on the work from those before us and it is definitely a heartwarming and full circle type of feeling in a situation like this one. I am absolutely delighted Jay is back at FCG and I’m confident his grandmother and my parents would have been as well. Cheers to gears and many more years!”
MORE INFO www.forestcitygear.com
