Ivan has been in the Lehigh Valley for over 30 years, 24 of those years he’s been at ATAS International, Inc. In his spare time, Ivan enjoys the nature of the Valley by doing things outdoors like camping or being by the river. The river is fun for Ivan in the summertime when he gets in la balsa (a raft) having floaty fun on the water and trying to stay cool. Ivan doesn’t only operate machines at ATAS, but he also operates his speaker in the shop that everyone listens to. So, Ivan is also a music-lover of all kinds.
“I like to listen to everything from rock’n’roll to Spanish folk music,” Ivan said passionately. His favorite artist though, is the band Aerosmith, who surely gets a lot of airtime from ATAS production.
Ivan can run about 90% of the shop, some machines Ivan can proudly do entirely on his own but he also takes pride in training newer members of the ATAS family to know and operate as many machines as he does. Out of the entire shop that Ivan can work, his favorite machine is the slitter machine.
Ivan has seen many projects that have featured ATAS throughout the years, his favorite project though is one that incorporated a unique custom color meant to mimic sand and made houses seemingly chameleonize in the desert.
Since Ivan has been a member of the ATAS family for so long, he has a multitude of fun memories to call back on, but his favorite memory is of when ATAS hosted a “Melting Pot” event where representatives of companies from countries across the globe met at ATAS headquarters for a tour and camaraderie. Tours provide an opportunity for production to show their hard work and how ATAS operates, a part of the event Ivan remembered and especially liked.
“We show them what it looks like to be up here (facility in Allentown) and how the machines work,” Ivan excitingly says. ATAS offers tours as part of different events we do throughout the year and they can be scheduled here.
Ivan also likes being able to help ATAS open new facilities across the United States. He enjoyed traveling to Chicago and getting the University Park facility off to a strong start. Being a helper is something Ivan likes to be, not just at work but all the time.
“I like helping my friends out. Whenever some issues pop up, they always call me and I help them out. I get a sense of fulfillment when I get to help them out,” Ivan said.
This is an attitude that you can see consistently from Ivan, its impact is extremely positive. Thank you for your dedication and hard work, Ivan. ATAS appreciates you!