Craig George is happy at his Atlanta office or on the road as Haskell’s East Region Lead for Automation. But it’s at the grocery store – the spirits aisle, the chocolate cookie display, the almond milk fridge – where he’s in his glory.

“I like to check out the little codes that are ink-jetted on the sides of cartons to figure out where products came from,” George said. “I try to buy the stuff that came off my line. My wife looks at me like I’m crazy sometimes. I just say, ‘This came off my line. This is our customer.’ I’m just keeping myself in business, I guess. I’m weird in that way.”

One of the most rewarding projects was preparing the line for the making of the Keebler E.L. Fudge cookies.

“We’re the only site in the country making this type of cookie for that company,” he said. “So, you could go to any grocery store in the country to get the double-stuffed cookies. All of those came from our line.”

George said he developed this fascination with making things work at a young age. He remembers well the How It’s Made documentary television series, which ended in 2019, was a show of interest that focused on the manufacturing processes of everyday items, from soda cans to pencils and balloons – and much larger.

George earned an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla and began his career working in automation for a machine builder in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked at Haskell since 2015.

“Our job is to make the actual production lines for whatever facility we’re working at to operate efficiently,” he said. “I go on site to these facilities and help bring it all to life.”

For his efforts to help bring products such as spirits, beer, chocolate cookies and almond milk to grocers’ shelves, George was recently presented with Haskell’s Living the Values Award, given quarterly to team members who exemplify its core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust.

“Craig goes above and beyond to support others, often in thoughtful and selfless ways that may go unseen,” Senior Automation Associate Steven Moser wrote in his nomination letter. “His generosity and kindness create lasting positive impacts on colleagues and the broader team.”

George accepted the individual award but dedicated it to the Automation team

“Being honored like this only reinforces our entire buy-in with our team,” George said. “It shows that everybody’s on board with our long-term goals and plans for the team. I’m lucky to be working with them all. We have a very supportive and team-oriented group.”

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