Spencer Marquis grew up attending PMMI meetings with his grandfather, Ted Marquis Sr., who founded Marq Enterprises, a Yakama, Wash.-based secondary packaging equipment manufacturer. Instead of working for the family business after studying engineering at the University of Idaho, Marquis worked at Omega Design Corp. to learn the packaging industry through a different lens. After one year of working for Omega, Marquis came back to Marq Enterprises to focus on building and leading the family business as a mechanical engineer.
PP-OEM: What drove you to work for a different company out of college?
Omega President Glen Siegele and my dad knew each other through PMMI, and after I graduated college, Siegele offered me a temporary position. My plan was always to come work for the family business, but I wanted to get some experience outside of Marq Enterprises and see how another company worked. That’s where the Omega venture came in. Moving to a whole new environment where I didn’t know any of the employees, was quite the experience for me. Some of the procedures we have here at Marq may be working for us, but that doesn’t mean they are the best procedures out there. After my time at Omega Design Corp., I was able to bring in some new ideas to Marq, and it definitely benefited us. My experience at Omega also helped me become a better communicator and coordinator.
PP-OEM: How did you keep developing those interpersonal skills when you got back to Marq?
I just finished PMMI’s Leadership Development Program two months ago with my brother, and that was an eye-opening experience. Working at a family-owned business, you are used to the ways things go, and you just accept that. But through this class, I was able to step back, look at what our next action was going to be as a company, and why we were going to do that. Then I learned how to look at the people involved in that action and break the situation down to a personal level, get feedback, and successfully set forth in the direction we wanted to go with the support of the people involved. The class teaches you how to deal and interact with people who have different behavioral styles. It was a really good start for me, and I hope to be able to effectively manage and communicate with my employer, coworkers, and customers from here on out.
