For the last 23 years, if you’ve come into Breiner Innovative’s shop floor and gone over to the clicker (the press used for a variety of small and large die cuts) you will have been greeted by one person: Susie Sutton.
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Looking for a new line of work, Susie answered an ad in the paper for an open position at Breiner. She was hired on the spot by Jan Parker – without having to even go inside the shop. She’s been at Breiner ever since.
But, this wasn’t the first time she worked in a factory type setting.
Before working at Breiner, Susie used to work for Kroger (literally) making the donuts. And while her previous workplace may have definitely smelled better than the Breiner shop – she says the closeness and fun she has with her coworkers all but makes up for it.
“Everybody is so close here,” Susie said. “We have Christmas dinners together and even grill out when the weather is nice. It’s like a little family.”
Susie’s famous cornbread stuffing at Christmas dinner and spaghetti salad at BBQs have become a delicious Breiner staple. She always has to make extra!
She also helped with “chef duties” when the office made a fake chocolate birthday cake from sponge rubber for resident chocoholic Jan as a prank. Susie says that watching Jan try and try to cut through that “cake” was one of her fondest memories during her 23 years.
The work Susie does has also kept her job fresh and exciting, she said. Over her time with Breiner she has helped create parts for a variety of interesting products – from medical head straps, to parts for buoys used by the military and even parts crucial to the Tower of Terror at King’s Island.
Over that time working with the clicker, she has also seen changes in the way Breiner operates, especially some of the machinery.
“Machines like the flashcutter have taken away some of the work that I was once responsible for,” she said. “But it’s kind of nice because it opens up chances elsewhere in the shop for me to learn and work with other machines and try new opportunities.”
Currently, Susie is trying to work her way into working on the shipping side of Breiner. She says she likes the idea of staying more active and on her feet while she works and shipping would allow her to be more social around the shop as well.
A hometown girl from Avon, when she’s not working Susie can usually be found spending time with family. She has a bunch of nieces and nephews and loves spending time with her mother, whom she always watches the Colts with on Sundays over family dinner.
Susie is also very active with her church, attending regularly and even helping out with fish fries. On weekends, she loves working in her garden where she grows plenty of green beans and okra. On Saturdays, she roots on her favorite college football team, Alabama.
Susie is just one of special folks working hard at Breiner Innovative, helping our customer find the solutions to their needs. Stop by, and let’s talk.
