Finding a needle in the Nashville hay stack

[Hydratech®]

I know this is a looooong shot, but am casting as wide a net as possible. We had a painter / builder here that I trained up personally over the course of six years. He was really doing a great job, responding to all of my training well, worked his way into 60k a year at 30 years old, the classic house, new car, wife, kid, then threw it all away by getting into heavy duty drugs. Needless to say, I caught all kinds of ridiculousness on the shop cameras, which led to some heated unpleasant discussions, finding him past the point of no return so I had to let him go. I really hated to do it, as I had put six years of my time, effort, money, and energy into this guy, and now had to flush it all down the drain. I then ended up hiring in a guy with 30 years of paint and body experience out of a Chrysler dealer body shop, but it turns out that a 100+ days into the job, he just isn't going to work out. You know how you have either got "it" or you don't. I have been interviewing people, working my contacts here in the Nashville area, and I just cannot seem to find the right candidate.

So yes, this is a help wanted ad that maybe, just maybe, might turn up the needle in the haystack. I know it's a total long shot, but there might just be a member here in the Nashville area, or that may know somebody?

Clean, safe, climate controlled, fully equipped shop, with a mellow professional specialist type of environment. We provide everything, all you need to provide is your favorite coffee mug. The job consists of the use of carbide cutters on hand held air motors to expertly shape and smooth the hydroboost castings, then painting the units with a trick proprietary method. Basic other shop duties include urethane clear coating the billet plates, running a drill press occasionally, and eventually some cross training into the highly specialized build work. What we do is so unique that you can't really jump straight into it and be an immediate mega tech - it requires skill and training. You bring the skill, and we will provide the training. The position starts at $18 - $20 an hour, though quickly ramps up as your skill and accuracy within your workmanship does.

We also offer flex time, meaning you can put your 40 hours in just about any way that you may want to. Put in an extra hour Monday through Thursday, then enjoy a short Friday, or bang out your 40 and then enjoy a three day weekend. Or? Take any day of the week off and work it out on a Saturday instead. Want to start at 9 and work until 5? Or 8 until 4, or anything else like 11 until 7? Want to work a midnight shift instead? Not a problem, just get your forty in any which way that may suit you best.

You can view some of the basics by scrolling down this web page:

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/products.html

Here is the full show preparation model as an example:



Soooo.... If you are in the Nashville area, we are right by the Nashville Super Speedway (that is getting ready to finally re-open - hooray!). I sure hope they get the 1/4 mile dragstrip done - the 1/8th was ok, but I'm a "1320 guy". If interested, please send me a private message, or e-mail to 'admin "at" hydratechbraking.com' Please do not call our public line, as Jim is already overwhelmed with phone duties as it is. I also want to gauge where you are at in your ability to compose an appropriate dialogue via a keyboard if possible - while certainly a bonus, it is not required for the position.

Thank you kindly! Let me know if you may be interested, or may know of anybody that could fill the position!

There IS a difference - Thank you for choosing Hydratech!

[232_ray]

I wish I was in the local area to you. I would totally jump on this opportunity. Good luck. You guys make an awesome product I run it on my ‘69.

[Hydratech®]

Well, here we go again... I managed to find a guy that actually could prepare a brake unit casting better than I could - an impossible dream come true. The golden rule is to always locate people that are better than you to bring on board into your staffing. I actually did it, and Rob really took care of business! But.... here comes the end (again). Rob is from Chicago, but fell in love and married a woman here in Nashville a few years ago. They have unfortunately divorced, though have tried and tried to reconcile their marriage to no avail. This has impacted Rob deeply. Despite how much he loves his job, he now (understandably?) feels the fiery need to get away from his ex wife as far away as he can - not just the other side of town. I have tried and tried to make his existence here at Hydratech as wonderful as possible, doing everything I could to keep him on board, paying him well, taking good care of him.

We had a classic end of the work week discussion, and Rob dropped the bomb on me that he has had it with his ex, and desperately wants to get as far away from her as possible, likely going back home to his roots in Chicago, or possibly swinging the other way to stay with some family in Texas. Either way, he has agreed to stay another month, willing to train anybody that can fill his shoes. No amount of money I have offered him to stay is going to change his mind - it's not about money for him in this scenario. Naturally, we have guys here that want his position, but I am not convinced that they may be able to step up to the challenge (no slight against them - they are good men). Working a brake unit casting into expert precision with carbide cutters is an art, as you can always take the metal off, but you can't realistically put it back on (DOH!). Shaping the castings into perfection, then painting them into glory is something that takes a very specific artistic talent that you don't see very often. Rob can take a rough raw OE brake unit, carbide it into perfection in less than hour (amazing), put a couple of expertly applied coats of paint on it, and achieve total perfection. The kicker? He can do it without having to even do any corrective sanding in between coats - AMAZING. You can want to do it, but "you have either got the mojo magic talent or you don't". Yes, a person with enough drive or will to succeed can get there, but the path to perfection may be a long one unless you have got the mojo.

This drives me nuts, as it means I am likely going to have to cover this position again. I am already so damned busy as it is that covering for another 40 hour position is going to murder me. With my Diabetes slowly taking me down, I just can't do half the things I used to be able to do just a short few years ago. I built a wicked 488 stroker for my 442 as a 50th birthday present to myself. I patiently waited until I had 500 miles on the build. As soon as I dropped the hammer for the very first time, I blew the highly prepared Grand National 200R4 darned near right out of the car. I then ordered in a GM Performance 572XP 4L85E to swap in, but have not been able to get to it in over two long years now. It breaks my heart to walk by my 442 up on the hoist in the shop 50 times a day, knowing that I am just too busy with Hydratech to get into the considerable troubles it is going to take to graft in the new trans (gutting the interior for some floor pan mods needed to accommodate this beastly trans). The engine also got hurt when this happened, as it revved up to kingdom come when it happened, dropping 30 lbs of oil pressure afterwards, so I have to also dive back into the engine to see what happened in there too. At least it is sitting in a fully climate controlled shop staying shiny and bright! Long nights burning the midnight oil until the sun comes up covering for this position is something I am NOT looking forward to if I can't find the right candidate - I just can't physically do it anymore. Of course Rob is going to work with our existing guys to see if we may be able to get them skilled up enough, though I just don't see it happening. No slight what so ever against my other guys that want it, but they are more mechanical than artistic. Who knows, maybe one of them will reach for the golden ring and surprise me. Meanwhile, I have to put this post back up (again) in the hopes that it just might hit the right target. Sometimes it is just dumb luck to be at the right place at the right time despite the odds!

Sooooo.... If there is by chance a member here, or possibly a person that you may know that could possibly fit the position, by all means do please let me know.

Thank you kindly!