By: Sam Cole
Hello! Sam Cole here, reporting in as the new Sales & Marketing Support Specialist at New Energy Works west coast operations. I’ve worked in “industrial marketing” for many years, starting with a forklift attachment manufacturer and most recently a provider of grid-scale energy storage systems. It’s been a fun niche to find myself in -- I really enjoy working with companies that A) make something, especially when I can walk out into an actual fabrication facility and watch the magic happen; and B) work closely with clients to address their specific needs. I’m excited to dive into the world of heavy timber and learn about a whole new industry.
Why New Energy Works? Having gotten to know the company and its people a little bit, I find that New Energy Works combines several things I’m passionate about: craft, community, and sustainability.
While I may be mostly a writer & digital media kind of person, I’m also a huge fan of physical crafts and maintaining connections to traditional methods of making & building. (By the way, I have recently signed up for blacksmithing classes.) I’m massively impressed by the projects in New Energy Works portfolio, and it’s awesome to be able to watch our timber framers at work. Plus, woodworking smells good!
Coming from a renewable energy company, I was really interested in finding my next role with an organization that somehow fits into sustainability. We all know and love timber as a renewable resource, so that was an easy indicator for me to look at when studying New Energy Works. But having learned more about the company operations, it’s clear that sustainability is simply built into our DNA. It’s fascinating to join New Energy Works at a moment when mass timber is on the rise. I’m excited to see how we are participating in that conversation and advocating for construction practices that are carbon sequestering, effective, and aesthetically pleasing.
Last but not least, I really appreciate how New Energy Works is committed to community. It shows up in a variety of ways, including how we work with our clients, how we engage with our industry partners, and how we commit to our coworkers (ie: being a 100% employee-owned company through an ESOP.) It’s one thing to be a provider of sustainable services & materials, but being a triple-bottom line company and evaluating business decisions based on the effects to people, planet, and profit brings business to another level. I’m glad to see New Energy Works doing it mindfully.
It’s only been a couple weeks since I joined New Energy Works, but it has been a packed couple of weeks, full of all the training and onboarding you might expect, as well as events inside and outside of the company. Altogether it has been an excellent crash course on what to expect. I’m looking forward to more!
