Jose Garcia

“We’re only here for a little bit, why not learn as much as possible and get your hands dirty.”

Fresh out of high school, Jose began his career working in production for a company out of Holland that moved containers from that country to the U.S. He took advantage of the opportunity to learn on the job — something he still feels strongly about — and learned about everything from how to bring in material to how to monitor containers overseas. After 10 years with that company, he not only had learned a ton about logistics, he had worked his way up to warehouse manager. Today that’s his role here at Ferguson.

After the container logistics job, before he came to Ferguson, Jose worked for a competitor. It was there he was introduced to and got excited about the work and the industry. He then came to Ferguson as a tech in Valve and Automation before moving into PVF and warehousing logistics. Twelve years later he still loves the work, the company, the team, and the Atlanta area, which he says has seen grow quite a bit over the years. In particular he values the chance to work with both sales and customers, and takes pride in the way Ferguson labels materials so they can be double-checked — a competitive differentiator he says customers really appreciate.

In every job he’s had, Jose has been focused on the importance of learning and growing. It’s a priority that remains important to him today. “Within my career I’ve learned quite a bit. There are big opportunities everywhere if you make the effort,” he says. “Here at Ferguson there is so much room to grow, and the company does a great job giving us the tools we need to continue to improve. Some people want to go to work and be done, but you need to feed on what the company gives you to learn, grow, and advance. You can learn from everyone, everyone is different, and everyone has something new to give.”

Jose believes great associates ask questions — which is how they learn. “I like people to ask questions,” he says. “The more questions you ask, the more interested you are, the more you learn and grow. There are no dumb questions.”

At the end of the day, Jose says likes to go home with a sense he accomplished something, whether that’s learning something new, helping someone, or just working hard and getting his hands dirty. When he’s done that, it’s been a good day.