On August 5, after a distinguished career, Tom Basgil will be retiring from WLS. In the next chapter of his life, Tom plans to take road trips and sightsee across the U.S., visit state parks, and spend time with his family. And, besides traveling and family time, Tom is looking forward to having more time for all his active hobbies, including golf, being on the water, concerts, playing piano, beer brewing, and gardening.
Tom’s tenure started when he was 19 years old and began working with Patton Labeling. Tom’s goal in life at the time was to be an architect and start college one year after high school. But, fortunately for everyone involved, Tom started at the Patton job – one that would become a dream job.
Tom’s job in those early days included designing product handling equipment for unique containers, fabricating parts in the machine shop, assembling machines, wiring machines, performing setup and FAT functions, and installing machines.
Over the years of Tom’s tenure, the company changed names seven times and changed locations seven times. The company names during Tom’s career were Patton Labeling Company, Patton Division of Revlon, Patton Division of Alford, Engraph, Sancoa, Weiler Labeling Systems, and finally, WLS as a division of ProMach.
When asked what he is most proud of over his excellent career at WLS, Tom stated, “I am very proud of how we grew as a company. Some of our employees have been together since the early 80’s and 90’s. We grew up together, worked hard and had fun striving towards our company’s goals. We wanted to supply the pharmaceutical industry with the best labeling machines and service for their packaging lines, so they could achieve success. We wanted to ensure that we gave our customers extensive value-added services and exceeded their expectations. As we pursued our goals of helping our customers succeed, we achieved many firsts in our industry. Throughout all our innovations and projects, we have become close friends with many of our customers.”
We asked Tom about his favorite memories, and he said, “I have had so many great times over the years… working for friend and mentor, Tom Pituch, Germany Inter-pack trade shows, PMMI shows in Chicago and Las Vegas, working with the team on multiple patents, customer lunches and dinners, customer and employee events, working and laughing with all the employees. Our team is special and I’m going to miss the friendships with all the employees and customers. It was a great experience!”
Asked to comment about Tom’s long career and upcoming retirement, WLS General Manager Lisa Propati said, “Tom has been such a big part of our company for so many years. We will miss his technical expertise and his great sense of humor. All of us here at WLS wish him the very best in his next stage of life.”
WLS will miss Tom very much, and we offer him heartfelt congratulations on his retirement!