South Carolina metal fabricator honors longtime employees with new cars

Amanda Tiller and Doug Getsinger were each surprised with a brand-new 2018 Nissan Rogue to celebrate their 40-year work anniversaries at Sargent Metal Fabricators. (photo by Ken Ruinard, Anderson Independent Mail)

Sargent Metal Fabricators has been a staple of northwest South Carolina since 1975. And for 40 of those 44 years, Amanda Tiller and Doug Getsinger have been a staple of Sargent Metal.

Working 40 consecutive years for the same company this day in age is almost inconceivable. And it’s such a rare feat that it couldn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by Sargent Metal.

“Doug and Amanda have been tremendous team members at Sargent Metal since they started in 1979, so we just wanted to honor them in a special way,” Michael Brown, Sargent Metal support services and human resources manager said in an email. “So, we thought this tremendous accomplishment by Doug and Amanda deserved to be recognized in a big way.”

And Sargent Metal went big. For their four decades of service to the Anderson, SC, metal fabrication company, Tiller and Getsinger were each surprised with a brand-new 2018 Nissan Rogue.

“I’m blown away,” Tiller told WYFF News 4 out of Greenville, SC. “This is way more than I expected. I would have never thought this would happen in 100 years. Maybe if I make to 100 years I’ll get another [car].”

Tiller, a customer service representative, and Getsinger, a MIG welder, both started at Sargent Metal in January of 1979. And over the last 40 years, they have witnessed Sargent Metal’s evolution as the family-run business grew to 150 employees, went through two headquarters relocations, bought its first CNC laser punch machine, retired company founder Donnie Sargent, and opened its 80,000-sq.-ft. Sargent Innovation Center.

Tiller and Getsinger also survived through several recessions, including one in the early 1980s where unemployment reached also 11 percent and the big one in 2008 where the GDP sank to minus-8.4 percent.

“We say all the time that our most important asset as a company is our people. There is no way that we could be successful without great team members,” said Brown. “And in 2019 (with unemployment close to 3% in South Carolina) there are plenty of opportunities for great people to find a job. So, we work hard to create an environment and a culture that our team members want to be a part of and a place they are proud to call home.”

Video by Ken Ruinard, Anderson Independent Mail