NES January Employee Spotlight
Employee Spotlight
Dave Whipkey
Dave Whipkey had already scheduled off the last two weeks of the year.
Napoleon Engineering Services, however, had just finished construction of its new building on Johnson Street and was preparing to make the move across town. Whipkey knew that the task would be massive. And so, in late 2010, he came to Chris Truman and offered to cancel his vacation to assist.
This was a notable instance of Whipkey prioritizing his job and the company’s needs over his personal life. It was an indication of who he is: A team player. Someone who’s willing to go the extra mile. And it’s what makes “Whip,” as he’s affectionately known on the plant floor, so deserving of our January spotlight.
“Dave is a long-time test technician who works very hard at maintaining a high-quality level of our test services,” NES president and chief engineer Chris Napoleon said. Echoing that thought, Truman, NES’ vice president of business operations, added: “Dave is a loyal, veteran employee who excels in testing.”
IN HIS role as a testing technician, Whipkey’s responsibilities vary. One day, he might be running the mud slurry, the next it could be the dust box or one of NES’ many other “gen housings,” or testing platforms.
In June of 2023, NES moved most of its gen housings from its old facility into the new 24,000-square-foot addition at its current location. Whipkey has also put much of his focus into getting those test rigs back online and enhancing their capabilities.
“We’re doing a lot of work to upgrade them and make them a little better so that they’re more automated, so it requires fewer man hours and hands-on work to get them up and running,” he said. “We’ve invested in a lot of upgrades just trying to make them better.”
He added: “You come in and basically check everything out. If a (testing platform is running), you make sure there are no issues and then you work on getting the other ones put together and online.”
And that’s what Whipkey finds most enjoyable about his work – whether he’s running an environmental or endurance test or providing maintenance on a housing, he’s always doing something different.
“That’s kind of the nice part about it,” he said. “You’re not doing the same thing every day.”
FOR WHIPKEY, the job is also rewarding.
He takes pride in the fact that his work helps inform NES testing customers about decisions regarding the continued use of a current bearing, the condition of a bearing or the potential to qualify a new bearing among multiple suppliers. And it’s due to the continued hard work of Whipkey and others that NES can say it features the largest independent inspection and testing facility in North America.
“(We’re) making sure that customers are getting some value for their money and getting decent test results,” he said. “We want to be able to provide them with good test results and help them make their decisions as to what bearings they’re using and what bearings are better than others.
“It’s coming in and being able to do the job and trying to make sure that you’re doing the best you can to getting good results.”
When he’s not working at NES, Whipkey is typically “working somewhere else,” he said with a laugh. Whip volunteers at the Veterans Memorial Social Hall in Port Allegany, Pa., tending bar and helping with wing night a couple times a month. A bartender for the last 20 years, he personally owned a bar over a 12-year stretch before selling it. Now, aside from the Vets Club, he also helps at his friend’s bar, the Park Hotel, in Port Allegany. During the summer, he enjoys working on both his and mother’s homes, “helping her out.”
Though never one to seek out accolades, Whipkey, one of NES’ longer-tenured co-workers at over 16 years with the company, is appreciative of the honor.
“It’s always good to know that you’re valued,” he said, “and that’s one of the big things that Chris (Napoleon) strives for and recognizes, is the value of people and trying to make sure that you’re rewarded for that.”