NES June Employee Spotlight
Employee Spotlight
Ray O’Brien
Several individuals can rightfully claim to have had a hand in Napoleon Engineering Services’ success over the years, to have helped grow it from a fledgling bearing inspection and testing company inside a spare bedroom into the globally recognized custom bearing manufacturer it is today.
Few, however, have made as lasting a contribution – or possess as unique a perspective on NES’ remarkable transformation – as Ray O’Brien.
After living out in Colorado and Oregon for a stretch – and performing contract work for Dresser-Rand upon his return to the area – the Allegany native began at NES in June 2003, making him our fourth-longest-tenured co-worker.
At that point, NES was a company of just a handful of employees doing mostly inspection/testing work, and some bearing modification jobs, out of a smaller building on Adams Street in Olean. Just over 23 years later, NES is a premier custom bearing manufacturer for the aerospace and aviation industries and boasts the largest independent bearing inspection and testing facility in North America while operating out of a 46,000-square-foot building on Johnson Street.
It’s a true “American Dream” kind of story.
And O’Brien has been part of it very nearly since chapter one.
“When I came over after Dresser, I just had that mentality of ‘any penny saved was important,’” O’Brien reflected during his 20th anniversary celebration in 2023. “And that’s where we were at as a company. Chris (Napoleon, NES founder and president) was very frugal; he wanted those lights turned off if no one was using that room. It was hard to buy equipment; we just didn’t have the money for it, so it was hard to do some of the stuff we do today.
“And that’s the great story about this place – (it was) a real start-up with limited funds that isn’t funded by some investment group. We had to build like that; we had to take these steps to grow the business into what it is today.”
O’BRIEN BEGAN as an inspection technician before shifting to inspection engineer/testing design and, eventually, inspection/testing department manager. He then served as the quality department manager for a spell before settling into his current position of quality engineer.
In this role, O’Brien engages in “quality discussions, questions and answers.”
“(I’m) looking for quality gaps and trying to find out how to make improvements and bridge gaps,” he said, before adding with a laugh, “I’m offering free commentary – both solicited and unsolicited.”
O’Brien performed First Article Inspections (a quality control process in which a manufacturer verifies that a new production process can produce parts that match customer specifications) and oversaw gage calibration systems. Currently, his primary focus is on contract review – “the quality gateway into the manufacturing queue.”
“Contract review, simply stated, is the gathering of the customer requirements, determining applicability and translating it into something understandable in the NES language,” he said. “From here, NES can break it down into an efficient plan to successfully satisfy the customer.”
Each day, O’Brien helps to ensure that NES bearings meet rigid quality standards, a crucial and often painstaking process when referring to aerospace-grade parts and mission-critical applications. In that way, he’s NES “internal policeman,” Napoleon said, a noble undertaking, but one fraught with challenges as NES simultaneously attempts to meet strict manufacturing deadlines.
That’s what makes him so deserving of this month’s employee spotlight honor.
And that’s what makes his work so rewarding.
“(It’s) knowing as part of NES, we are … participating in the creation of a real-world practical product,” he said, before adding: “For my part, I like getting into the zone, so to speak; just completely immersed and absorbed in the details of a job and outputting valuable results to flow down.
“The zone is not every day or even that often, but it motivates me to seek it as a goal.”
OUTSIDE OF work, O’Brien enjoys meditative hikes through the woods, distant from the everyday sounds and sights. “Just being,” he said. He seeks to “surrender to be a more authentic Christian” and finds great solace in the Gospels, Psalms and the soulful Prayer of Thomas Merton.”
The NES veteran, to be sure, is proud of the almost unprecedented impact he’s made here over the last two-plus decades.
“But it’s more of an honor to have had the shared experience from NES’ more humble beginnings to the transformation into a leading bearing manufacturer,” he said. “It’s cool; I’ve been fortunate enough to have had my hands in every NES department (in that time). I have seen some of the resource struggles and now, so many things NES wanted or needed, NES has obtained.
“Now we can look back and take joy in how far we’ve come. Chris had a plan, but it wasn’t a perfect roadmap; there was a lot of re-routing. With that flexibility on the journey, NES is now multiple times stronger.”
Said NES Vice President Chris Truman, who coincidentally began his full-time career here in the same week as O’Brien in 2003, of Ray’s impact: “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Ray for the past 23 years, and during that time I’ve come to appreciate the unique qualities he brings to our team.
“Ray is methodical, deliberate and never in a hurry; some might even jokingly compare him to a sloth. But that’s exactly what makes him so effective. He takes the time to ensure every detail is right, and in the quality department, that attention to detail is invaluable.
Truman added: “Ray plays a critical role in maintaining the high standards our customers expect from NES. His consistency, knowledge and commitment to doing the job right have had a lasting impact on our organization. I am truly grateful for everything Ray brings to the table and for the many years we’ve had the opportunity to work together.