Trip to Grizzly Corp Headquarters *Gloat*

[Matthew Poeller]

Well I had a nice treat today. I am from Olean NY and have been traveling this week for my company. It just so happened that I have been in Seattle visiting some oil refineries to take care of the some engineering problems that they were having.

The salesman that was taking me around said, "you are into woodworking aren't you?" Well yes, yes I am.

"Grizzly corporate headquarters are not too far from here and if we have time we will stop."

Well sure enough I rushed through my work so that I could take a visit. Good times. It was short notice and we did not have enough time for a full tour or anything like that but the showroom was pretty impressive.

I was dissapointed in one thing though. Shiraz, if you are reading this I was dissapointed that none of your guitars were on display. There were only a couple of posters. I was really looking forward to seeing some of them in the "bark". SHAMELESS PLUG: If you are ever looking for an engineer with an MBA I would love to work for your company provided there is an employee discount .

I know that I have not had much time to post here is a while since my work and masters program have been very demanding but I thought this was worth a mention.

Take care all.

[Barry O'Mahony]

'pretty neat showroom, huh? I guess the downside was that you were travelling, and couldn't exactly bring a machine back in your carryon. I usually bring my F-250.

Unlike the other Grizzly warehouse showrooms, this one's not open on hte weekends, so it's not exactly the easiest to get to. 'worth the trip though if you're the type that likes to look over the machines before purchase.

[Bart Leetch]

So Matthew

Which tool do you want me to go up & drool over for you.

I only live about 1 hour from Bellingham? I get up there just about every 2 months. I also stop at Western Tool which is fun too & Hardware Sales which I think is a well kept secret.

[Cecil Arnold]

Matt, congrats on the graduate degree. I know how hard that can be when you're working. I'm sure Shiraz will check in on the guitars. Maybe he will put a warehouse/showroom in Houston one day, sure would like to see all that iron in one place.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Matt, sounds like you had a great time. I wouldn't mind seeing one of those 6-string thang's up close and personal as well. They are gorgeous!

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Matt, from the new area they put up on the site showing pictures of various components of "The Griz"....ya needed to go up that staircase to the corporate office area.

Scary looking at all those pictures....too many suits and ties!

Doug

[Tom Donalek]

As a working engineer, don't you need to be a)smart and b)actually know what you're doing? How did they let you into a MBA program with disqualifying attributes like those? (Just kidding! Congratulations!)

Sounds like their showrooms would be a blast - it would be esp. cool to see the huge industrial machines up close! Too bad for me that the nearest Grizzly location is in southern MO - I doubt I'll swing through there anytime soon...

[Tom Pritchard]

Well I had a nice treat today. I am from Olean NY and have been traveling this week for my company. It just so happened that I have been in Seattle visiting some oil refineries to take care of the some engineering problems that they were having.

Hey Matt, is the "Beef & Barrel" still in Olean? Used to be the best beef on kimmelwick sandwich in the world there! We used to wait for almost an hour to get a table there. My wife is from Ridgway, PA and we would stop in Olean from our trip from Rochester to Ridgway. Man, now I've gone and made myself hungry!

Great opportunity to see the Griz headquarters! Talk about the right place at the right time! Take care!

[Matthew Poeller]

Well I am back in Olean now. Too cold, not raining though however we did have two of the nicest days in Seattle that they have had in a month.

Bart, we stayed in Bellingham for two of the nights that I was there as I was up there to visit CononoPhillips Ferdale and BP Cherry Point. I am sure that you know the places since they are pretty big.

Cecil, my head has been spinning for the last three years. One last semester to go though.

Jason, That is what I was hoping for. No luck though.

Doug, I saw that. I started up that staircase. If you look close you will see a employee only sign on one of the kick plates. I almost kept going but I did not want to get in trouble. I should have though, Shiraz probably would have shown me around.

Tom, I love it. I get that all the time. It was actually my decision. I just wanted a change of pace. I am a life long learner type person at least right now(I am only 27). I plan to take a year off and go on for my MS in engineering and then I will pick a Phd program if I am not too burnt out. If you are digruntled engineer like I am it shows you the other side of things. That has actually made me a little more disgruntled but oh well. Maybe it will get me a higher salary.

Tom, The beef is still here. One of the guys that I work with is from Ridgeway. Small world I tell ya. I honestly never really looked into it and the salesman that I was traveling with mentioned that it was there. I am glad he did.

Good times. Thanks for all the responses.

Now I have to go to work since I have been slacking this morning.

Matt