When Nick Abbot finished college, he had one goal career-wise: to find a job that he enjoyed and where he would have an impact on people’s lives. In short, he wanted to help people. He also had a personal goal: to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

After almost four years on the Carroll County Police Force, Nick still wanted to serve, but he no longer wanted to be a public servant. A return trip to college, a master’s degree in safety, security, and emergency management, something he knew quite a bit about, and another couple of years stint at a company in Warsaw, led Nick to become the Safety Coordinator at Phoenix Global.

Six months into his new gig, Nick is equally as fulfilled helping people, and in a less threatening, crime-free environment. “While the overall goal of helping people stands, my goal every day now is that everyone goes home to their families at the end of the day,” said Abbot. “If everyone goes home, no one got hurt, and in essence, that’s my job.”

Nick takes great pride in having the training to handle almost any situation and make the right decisions when stress and chaos take center stage. “I like to get out and get involved with our team,” said Abbot. “We have a really close-knit group of people, people who care, and people that want to better the culture and the company. These people are my friends, and I enjoy doing what I can to help them whenever I can. I love getting up and coming to work every day.”

He arrives about 5:30 AM daily so he can check in with the night shifters clocking out and the morning shift clocking in. He does a Toolbox Talk over safety issues daily, checks in with everyone to make sure they are set for the day, conducts employee safety audits, looks for safety hazards and addresses them, and always has his eyes on potential safety issues, both in the plant and with the personnel.

A natural outdoorsman, Nick likes to take his wife and two young sons outdoors for hiking, fishing, golfing, or just hanging out in the fresh air. His dream is to take the family to New York, to Niagara Falls, and into Vermont, with a side trip to Cooperstown along the way.

REGGIE REIMAN Welder | Fabricator

Reggie Reiman simply describes himself as a welder. But few outside the Phoenix plant walls could possibly understand what that means. Although it’s a simple concept—a guy pulls his mask down, strikes an arc, and he’s welding—that is about as far from what Reggie does as would be Taylor Swift ringing a bell.

At Phoenix, Reggie is equal parts builder, engineer, repairman, daredevil, and artist. “I don’t think people actually understand what we’re doing here,” said Reiman. “We do all our welding in-house; sometimes we’re completely reinventing the wheel. It’s hard to imagine the weight these things hold that we put together and some of the challenges we’re faced with every day. We’re not just welding plates together.”

What they are welding are slag trucks, C-frames, loader buckets, water trucks, and odds and ends fabrication. “We basically handle everything metal-wise, welding-wise, cutting-wise, anything-wise,” said Reiman. “We make our own buckets, and I’ll say, we do have some of the better-looking buckets of any other site.”

Reggie got into the business when he took a job doing refractory work right out of high school. After a couple of years, he was ready to move on and move up, and he learned of Phoenix from friends and jumped at the chance to work there when offered. Eight years in, Reggie is now teaching the welding Masterclass he once learned.

“No project is the same,” said Reiman. “You’ve got to be adaptable, you’ve got to be creative and be flexible. You have to be willing to try new things and just put yourself out there. It’s what I really like about the job.”

Having played guitar, bass, and drums in bands in high school, Reggie has a musical side that only comes out when jamming with his kids or having people to his house. In other spare time, he welds on the side for friends; it’s just in his DNA.

A self-described “what you see is what you get” kind of guy, Reggie adds, “I like my job and the people I work with, and I do enjoy welding.”

Reggie Reiman is a welder.

Meet the faces behind Phoenix Global in our series, “The People of Phoenix Global.” Here, we celebrate the stories and passions that shape our success. First up is Dave Holder, a dedicated site manager whose leadership and resilience embody what we’re all about.

Phoenix Global and North American Stainless (NAS) have been partners in running steel mills around the country for the past 13 years. The one constant over those years of trials, tribulation, and triumph has been Dave Holder.

Dave got started in the industry as a truck driver before his Phoenix-NAS journey began, working as an equipment operator for Phoenix, who had taken over NAS. He worked his way up to a management position and was offered a position running the company’s steel mill in Wilton, Iowa, which he took and moved to corn country.

Five very successful years later, Dave was off to start a new mill in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, landing in duck country. Dave’s star was born in Ft. Smith, where he got the site up and running to rave reviews citing his efficiency turnaround despite managing basically the same workforce.

In a full circle moment, Dave is back managing the North American Stainless mill for Phoenix Global. It’s what he does best. Dave may claim his Ft. Smith turnaround was his greatest accomplishment, but those who work with him would argue his greatest accomplishments keep coming. His job is not easy. “Most people would be shocked at what we do and how we perform it without people being hurt,” said Holder. “What we do is dangerous; you’re dealing with molten steel. The whole process, if you see the process from start to finish, is pretty amazing.”

And compliments he garnered from Ft. Smith several years ago are now raining down at NAS. Dave was recently commended for his team’s safety record and practices. “The ultimate accomplishment for me is everybody goes home safe every day,” said Holder.

Accolades must be earned, and Dave keeps accumulating his through a simple, straightforward open communication style. “I’m one of those people who never forgot where I came from,” said Holder. “I understand their concerns, their complaints, and I try to be compassionate about that while also having to be the boss. The goal is to have a good balance with that, and I feel I have a pretty good handle there.”

Dave was always a Harley guy, logging over 150,000 miles across the country with 750cc’s between his legs and his cares in the rearview. Claiming bikes are a young man’s game, Dave is passionate about golf now, with one need for speed yet realized: a muscle car. “I’ve always wanted one but just haven’t pulled the trigger,” he said. “My generation was always, you know, get a Harley, get a Corvette!”

At worst, he can drive it to the golf course.