05/06/2024
HAPPY RETIREMENT WISHES MIKE!
WHO IS MIKE HANAUER?
Before we get into “Who is Mike Hanauer”, let me give you a little history lesson about the 3089 property. Back in the day, Manufactured Structures was building modular units at this location. They were bought out by Titan in 2013, then Whitley Manufacturing acquired the property in 2020.
Ok, now back to “Who is Mike Hanauer”.
Mike began his modular construction career right out of high school in 1977 working for Whitley Manufacturing in South Whitley; He worked there for 31 years. He started out in roofs but also worked in walls, off-line and as a group lead of the cabinet shop before leaving for a QC position with Manufactured Structures in 2008.
Management tried to entice Mike to stay, but his mind was already made up. Mike commented that leaving Whitley Manufacturing the first time was the hardest thing he’s ever done. He had great friends and very fond memories of his days at Whitley Manufacturing in South Whitley.
If you are old enough to remember there was a big recession back in 2008. Shortly after Mike hired on with Manufactured Structures there was a layoff. Mike avoided the layoff but his job responsibilities changed a lot. Instead of being over QC, which was one of the big drawls for him to accept the job with Manufactured Structures, he was taxed with QC, ordering labels, doing inspection reports for various states, working in final finish and many more tasks to help keep the company afloat. Needless-to-say Mike was starting to regret his decision to leave Whitley.
In 2013, Manufactured Structures was bought out by Titan and in 2020, Whitley Manufacturing purchased the property to expand their modular building production in Rochester. Once Whitley Manufacturing took over Mike was put back in QC and that’s where he has been since.
Mike shared some interesting stories about his time with Whitley Manufacturing:
1. PRIOR to Simon being the owner, every now and then… right after work, the company would buy a couple cases of beer. The employees would sit together, drink a beer and socialize.
2. We used to get an hour for lunch. There was a big slab of asphalt back behind the office area with a basketball hoop. Drew Welborn, Dan Lipinski, Larry High, Don Harlan, and I would go out back at lunch time and play basketball. During one game Don and I were on the same team, yet he hit me square in the face with a ball and shattered my glasses. During another game, Drew, who was a former football player, went to guard me and flattened me onto the asphalt….I’m not so sure that one was an accident. 😊 Drew was working for me in the off-line department at the time. He is now the President of the company. I’m sure he wouldn’t have that position if he hadn’t trained under me all those years ago. LOL During the winter months we set the basketball goal up indoors.
3. We used to have “Thirsty Thursday”. After work on Thursdays a few of us would go to a local bar, the Green Parrot, to play ping-pong and drink beer.
4. I remember a time when I was working with Simon on one of our first, more complicated modular builds. One Saturday he and I were trying to figure out how to install a steel framed door. We had never done one before. We were struggling with everything clear down to picking out the right screws. I’ve installed hundreds of those doors since, but that experience on a Saturday with Simon was a real bonding moment for me.
5. South Whitley used to send me out on service calls. One that I remember distinctly was to repair a pre-school on a military base in Ohio. Why does that one stick out for me? Well… me and another guy headed out on a Sunday with a truck full of equipment. Another crew was scheduled to arrive at the base on Monday. I pulled up to the gate on the base that Sunday evening hoping that I could unload the equipment out of the back of the truck so it wouldn’t get stolen at the hotel. The officer at the gate told me that I had to come back the next day. I pulled forward thinking I would turn around in their parking lot. The moment I crossed a certain line two military officers had their guns drawn and told us to put our hands on the dash of the truck. They detained us for hours and threatened to charge us with trespassing. That was a scary experience. We went back the next day, entered the base and did the job without incident.
6. Another service call experience was with Kevin Way, who retired in 2022, Charles Kean and several others. We were sleeping in a hotel when a drunk person tried to break into Kevin’s room. Kevin had to apply his body weight against the door to keep this drunk guy from breaking it down. I went over to Kevin’s room and he was standing there (I won’t describe his dress attire) with brass knuckles on just waiting for the guy to bust in.
7. Kevin was in a hot tub one time when a group of young boys got in with him. They looked at him and said, “Are you Jesus?” LOL For those of you who know Kevin.....YOU GET IT. :)
A couple of my fondest work accomplishments were receiving the “Employee of the Year” award and an award for “25 years of outstanding performance, productivity and dedicated service”.
Mike said he’s ready to retire and start the next chapter of his life with his wife, Wendy, by his side. They plan to finish projects around the house, change decals on their camper…as they plan to camp a LOT. They plan to take their annual trip to Florida in June, visit as many Nature Preserves in Indiana as possible, go hiking, hit all the Indiana State Parks and go to the Indiana Dunes.
To close……. Thank you, Mike, for the road down memory lane. You provided us with some good reading, a little laughter and most of all, some really great memories.
We wish you the best in your retirement.
