Aleksey Voytukhov ( Aleks ) is the general manager at Northway Products in Mukilteo , Washington . Voytukhov is originally from Ukraine but has been a U . S . citizen since the mid-1990s . He worked his way up from floor manager to site manager for a prior company , before coming to Northway Products four years ago . Voytukhov remembers being raised in Ukraine . He said that when he was growing up , children were taught hands-on skills such as carpentry or car repair , as early as eight years old .
The owners of Northway Products , also from Ukraine and Russia , have been in the U . S . as citizens for most of their careers . The company ’ s employees have a work ethic and a commitment to solid company culture . They are proud of their quality , competitiveness , and camaraderie .
Machinist Phil Timm has been with the company for three years . He has been working as a machinist and welder for 50 years , and he loves the environment of Northway . He said , “ The quality of the stuff that we are proud to put out to our customers — the variety of work ( we ) get to do — is not mundane .” He said he was proud of the team , saying , “ We all have each other ’ s best interest .”
Sales Manager , Yan Lopatin , is a mechanical engineer by trade and speaks English , Russian , some Spanish , and Ukrainian . He has been with the company for close to three years . He has worked for Seattle Metals and Modern Metals . He is also proud of the employees . He said the owners hold several companies and , interestingly , one of the businesses started as a residential siding company . As they grew the business , they began welding rails in the garage .
They were then hired for metal production . As the company expanded and family members became involved , they acquired Northway Products of Mukilteo , an already existing company . Then seven years ago , the original owner of Northway sold the business to the current owners .
Voytukhov said that the owners understand hard work and the American work ethic . He said people of Slavic descent are hard-working people . When they were growing up during the communist era , “ You couldn ’ t own things ; they would split the wealth between the common folks . If you had too many chickens , the communists would take them away .” But Lopatin added that all employees have been hard-working .
26 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS