Meet Janet Knowles, our Customer Service Lead at our GWS-Tennessee facility, in Nashville, TN. Janet has been at this facility for 37 years!

After graduating from college, Janet’s career at Peterson Tool Company (now GWS Tool Group) began through a recommendation from a high school friend. She started as a receptionist in March 1987 and quickly expanded her role to include handling employee insurance claims. Janet’s versatility and dedication led her to learn quoting, where she and her colleagues managed all customer quotes. Eventually, another employee was hired to take over the receptionist role, and Janet moved to quoting full-time.

As Janet’s expertise grew, she transitioned to a full-time quoting role. This position required her to meticulously analyze what needed to be included in each quote, determine costs based on previous quotes, and collaborate with multiple departments. Janet handled Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and worked closely with customers, engineering, and production teams to ensure accurate and comprehensive quotes.

Janet remembers when quotes were handwritten six times to ensure everyone had a copy, and she relied on a wall of filing cabinets and index cards to track previous orders. Her experience and knowledge in quoting eventually led her to manage purchase orders and manufacturing scheduling. She held the position of Manager of Purchase Orders for 15 years until Peterson Tool was acquired by GWS Tool Group.

Today, as the Customer Service Lead, Janet oversees all purchase orders and quotes for the GWS-TN location. She leads a team of three, ensuring our customer service remains at the highest quality. Janet’s role involves working with almost every department at GWS, handling quoting from tool drawings, creating purchase orders, and engaging with customers.

After 37 years, Janet still enjoys what she does! She likes seeing the orders come in, and the finished product go out. Being able to see the process from start to finish, while being hands on, keeps her on her toes. Nothing is the same, there’s something different or new every day. With our GWS-TN facility being a strictly custom facility, Janet faces new challenges and ideas all the time.

Janet has also witnessed the growth from a small, family-owned business, to a fast-growing business, to being a part of a large company! Being a part of GWS Tool Group means there are more resources, more offerings, better benefits, and the ability to move around. She is excited about the room for growth and likes seeing others around her grow.

LIFE OUTSIDE GWS

Janet fills her life with family outside of work. She is married and has two adult sons. However, she also has 3 grandchildren; a 3 year granddaughter, and 2 step-grandsons she claims as her own. She watches her granddaughter almost every Saturday, and sometimes the boys too. She and her husband take the kids to all the fun places – parks, the zoo, the trampoline park, and more!

A Nashville area native, Janet trades the drive to work for the peace and quiet at her house. After work, you can find Janet relaxing at home, surrounded by woods. Sometimes she likes to watch the birds that live in the trees around her house.

In her leftover free time, Janet and her husband like to go to casinos with friends, staying at the hotel for a mini getaway! Or if they need a longer vacation, Janet’s family grew up going to the beach in Florida every summer, and that’s her favorite place to go.

If you enjoy working with dedicated people like Janet, consider applying to GWS Tool Group. We are always looking for talented and driven individuals to work at our facilities in Florida, California, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Canada. Browse open jobs here.