'Tribal knowledge' helps 50-year employee keep Wall ambulance factory going strong
WALL - Mike Borrero had moved to the Jersey Shore to be near his soon-to-be wife in the winter of 1973 when he saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper from P.L. Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc., looking for a welder.
Borrero had learned the skill working for a construction company, so when P.L. Custom's owner Martin "Bud" Smock asked him during his interview at the company's shop in Brick to weld frames together, he passed the test with ease.
"Buddy gave me a bunch of little things to do and I put it all together and he said, 'You're hired,'" Borrero said.
Fifty years later, Borrero is still here, working at the same job for the same company in a feat that makes him something of a unicorn. He has steered his way around the obstacles that can derail the career paths of even the best workers: his family-owned employer hasn't been acquired or moved out of state; he hasn't been replaced by automation; he hasn't jumped ship to a competitor offering more money; and he has stayed healthy.
Career plans: How Jackson 'crazy blonde' became the backbone of this booming construction business
Borrero's longevity and institutional knowledge gives P.L. Custom a leg up, experts said, particularly as companies with blue-collar jobs struggle with a persistent labor shortage and try to train a new generation of workers.
"There is such a demand for that knowledge," said Gary MacDonald, director of curriculum and grants at Ocean County Vocational Technical School. "Over the years the younger generation hasn't been exposed to people with that knowledge because they haven't been entering the trades."
"We're working with a builder right now who's trying to pair up some of the students he's been hiring out of our program with some of his lead foremen who he knows are at the end of their careers, because he doesn't want that knowledge to go to waste," MacDonald said.
Borrero, 77, lives in Stafford with his wife, Myrtle. They have three adult children — Beatrice, Daniel and Sheila.
Job growth: Why the Jersey Shore is gaining more jobs than its neighbors
Pride, optimism and safety
Borrero grew up in Puerto Rico, but moved to Newark when he was about 19 after getting into an argument with his father. He quickly found work in factories making plastics. He spoke only Spanish, but he had little trouble fitting in since his supervisor spoke Spanish as well.
Borrero moved to Somerset, then to Bound Brook, picking up welding jobs. He met Myrtle, whose sister lived in Bound Brook, and followed her to the Shore. He quickly landed another welding job at P.L. Custom, a company that manufacturers ambulances, mainly for municipalities.
Borrero took pride in his job. If something was done wrong, he said, he would take it apart and do it again. He tried to keep a rosy attitude, letting the common workplace complaints go in one ear and out the other. And he paid attention to safety, wearing a visor that protects his eyes from the ultraviolet radiation of the welding arc.
Once, he had a chance to leave for another job in Trenton, but he decided to stay put.
"The guy told me I had to buy my own (health) insurance, plus I had to climb three stories higher to do the work so I decided, no, that's not for me," Borrero said.
Borrero has watched P.L. Custom grow. When he joined in 1973, the company operated in a 5,000-square-foot shop in Brick, where 10 employees turned out one ambulance a month. Now, the company operates in a 110,000-square-foot facility in Wall, where 140 employees produce 10 ambulances a month. Its annual sales are about $25 million.
Manufacturing in New Jersey: Roben Manufacturing co-owner brings Wall Street wisdom to his Lakewood family business
Workers on the move
His lengthy tenure has made Borrero a rarity. American workers stay in one job for a median of 4.1 years, down from 4.6 years, or 10.8%, from a decade ago. And a study of people born between 1957 and 1964 found workers had an average of 12.7 jobs from the ages of 18 to 56, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The merits of staying in one job for a long time are subject to debate. During the height of the pandemic, 60% of workers who switched jobs saw an increase in inflation-adjusted earnings, compared with 47% of workers who stayed put, according to a Pew Research Center report.
But workers don't always have the choice. Working in Borrero's favor? He has a trade that isn't easily replaced by technology. And he works for a family-owned company that has remained in New Jersey to be close to its customer base, even as other manufacturers have left for more affordable states.
P.L. Custom said 20% of its employees have been with the company for more than 20 years, and 9% have been there for more than 30 years. As a result, the work force is efficient and sets a tone that company officials hope rubs off on younger workers.
"Someone who has been here that long is super valuable because they understand the 'tribal knowledge,' we call it, how we do things," said Deborah Smock Thomson, the company's second-generation owner who has been president since 2015. "There's a lot of things that we do that are not necessarily written in a spec anywhere."
"We have a lot of new people that have joined the company and are working side-by-side with some existing people, so we're teaching them what to do," she said. "And positive attitude is definitely something you want to transfer."
In all, Borrero has helped build 4,500 ambulances in his career. He has plenty of hobbies, too. He used to make lunch boxes out of scrap diamond plate he found at the shop. And these days he works on his classic car sometimes until 8 p.m.
Construction work: NJ women find high-paying jobs in a field that's desperate for them
It isn't clear how much longer he wants to keep working. There are other things he would like to do. He recently visited Niagara Falls and wants to see the Grand Canyon.
But for now, it seemed likely he would be back to work the next day and the next.
"I'll be here until she throws me out," Borrero said, smiling.
"That's not happening," Thomson replied with a laugh.
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 50-year employee brings knowledge to Wall ambulance business
