NES August Employee Spotlight

Chaz Rishel

In June, we honored Ray O’Brien, one of Napoleon Engineering Services’ longest-tenured employees. Two months later, we’re recognizing another member of the old guard, a co-worker whose loyalty and contributions have also spanned two-plus decades: Chaz Rishel.

Rishel, like O’Brien, is NES to his core, bleeding white and blue.

But unlike O’Brien, who’s worn several proverbial hats during his tenure, Rishel has made his mark in one department, dutifully performing his job each day, and mastering it over the last 23 years, that of inspection technician.

In this role, Rishel is primarily responsible for NES’ bearing Source Qualification Inspection (SQI) and reverse engineering jobs. He also programs the coordinate measuring machines (CMM) for both external inspection work and in-house final inspection for NES’ custom bearing manufacturing (CBM) team, performs spot inspections and assists, as needed, with CBM work.

But what, exactly, does an inspection technician do?

“For the SQIs, I’ll get products from two manufacturers and basically, I’ll take all the boundary dimensions – OD, bore, width, any runouts needed, all the assembled dimensions,” said Rishel, NES’ second-longest-tenured employee, behind only founder and president Chris Napoleon. Then, Rishel will disassemble the bearing to assess, among other things, the raceways, corners and cage dimensions.

“There’s so much,” he said.

Recently, Rishel was working on a First Article Inspection job. “You basically start with an assembled bearing,” he explained. “You take every dimension that you possibly can get with it assembled, then you break it down into its component parts and do it all over again.” To accomplish these jobs, from within NES’ state-of-the-art inspection lab, he uses several machines, from the contracer, to the CMM, to the optical comparator to the Talysurf.

“You name it, I’ve got whatever’s needed, generally speaking, to get the job done.”

In that way, his job – despite its constant nature – still varies from day to day.

But that’s what he likes about it.

“I could be working on a tapered roller bearing for two weeks, I might be working on a deep groove bearing for two weeks, I might be working on an angular contact bearing for one day,” he said. “You just don’t know what you’re going to get. But that’s what I enjoy about it; it’s not always the same thing.”

Rishel, like all his teammates in the inspection lab, prides himself on accuracy.

In his department, that’s the name of the game – accuracy in the information he provides to our inspection engineers for their final reports and, even more importantly, accuracy in hitting the tolerances needed to manufacture high-precision aerospace bearings. “Because if we don’t have the numbers, we’re not giving the customers anything useful,” he noted.

It’s a very specific, and critical, function of the NES machine.

And it’s one Rishel has been happy to fulfill for the last 23 years. 

“I find it rewarding just to come in, have the competence and the ability to do my job and put out a good product,” he said, “because at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that matters. I’m not necessarily a prideful person; I don’t boast or anything like that, but … being able to be competent and skilled and do what I do and do it well, that’s more than enough for me.”

Rishel, like O’Brien and NES’ other 20-plus-year co-workers – including Napoleon, Chris Truman and Ralph Brooks – has truly “seen it all.” He’s watched as NES has grown from a modest bearing testing and inspection outfit into the world-leading custom bearing manufacturer for the aerospace and aviation industries it is today.

He’s been among the longest-running contributors to that rise.

He possesses one of the most unique perspectives in our company’s history.

And he’s not only prideful, but also appreciative of those facts.

“Over the years, the company has been very good to me, and I hope to hell that I’ve been very good for the company,” he said. Are there bad days? Yeah, but you’re going to find those anywhere. … This is a good place to work, and I’ve been to enough other places before I came here to understand what I have here.”

He added, “I know who I am, I know what I am, I know my skillset, and that’s why I’m quite content with where I’m at.”

Perhaps more than anything, more, even, than drawing accurate data from a machine that can measure within 50-millionths, Rishel has enjoyed being along for the ride. “Being a part of it,” he said, “because I’ve been here a long time, I’ve committed a great portion of my life, and I’m quite content and happy to have done that.

“(Chris) Napoleon had a vision; I noticed that within him pretty early on. He’s a good man; he’s an honest man … and it became part of my goal to help him achieve his goals. It’s been a great ride, it really has.”

Outside of work, Rishel, an Olean native and veteran of the U.S. military, enjoys hunting, riding his four-wheeler, going into the woods and generally being outside. “That’s why I live in Hinsdale, because I can go outside, shoot guns, walk through the hills and ride around on my four-wheeler. I can do pretty much what I want.”

“Chaz has been a staple (of our company) for 23 years,” Chris Truman, NES vice president, said. “His dedication, pride in his work and commitment to doing things right have made him an important part of our team.

“As inspection technology has evolved, Chaz has always put in the time to learn new, state-of-the-art equipment and grow along with the department. And anyone who knows Chaz knows that passion can occasionally result in a flying object or two when you (upset him). His experience, knowledge and dedication have made a lasting impact on NES and our drywall, and we’re fortunate to have had him as part of our team for all these years.”