
Family Connections – Collaboration in Ohio
Family Collaboration in Ohio
For Janice Willamson, her daughter Ashton Rentsch and son-in-law Justin Rentsch, business doesn’t often come up at the dinner table.
“We work on projects together all the time,” said Janice, vice president of operations for Quanex’s Cambridge facility. “We’re in a lot of the same meetings. Justin’s immediate supervisor reports to me. It’s never a problem—we sit down and talk about what we need to do, how we need to move forward. And when the meeting is over, then we talk about the grandkids.”
Justin is a manufacturing engineer at Cambridge, while Ashton is a research and development chemist in Akron. The three family members came to work at Quanex slowly—Ashton originally held summer jobs at Cambridge while she was in college before joining full time in 2015 after a stint in the medical industry.
“I began my career in the medical field, and when I needed a change, I had an opportunity to join Quanex as a chemist,” said Ashton. “This was vastly different work—and that was a good thing. It’s challenged me in new and different ways, and I’ve applied some of my knowledge in a way I never thought I would.”
Justin, meanwhile, started in 2013 when Janice was hiring in the mixing department. He later earned his engineering degree while working in manufacturing and then moved to the engineering team in Cambridge.
“I never envisioned being here for so long when I started, but Quanex’s tuition reimbursement program helped keep me here while I earned my degree,” he said. “I’ve always felt like there’s room for growth, and I’ve always had high aspirations. I like broadening what I’m good at, and that possibility has always been here at Quanex.”
Janice says that across the company, the contributions of all team members help make Quanex truly feel like a family.
“Everyone brings something to the table,” she said. “Justin has knowledge in engineering, Ashton knows chemistry, and every other person that comes to work in these facilities every day brings something unique. I think it’s part of what makes Quanex such a special organization.”