40 Years of Opportunity and Change: Barb Knoll’s Gentex Career Featured Image

40 Years of Opportunity and Change: Barb Knoll’s Gentex Career


You can stay in one place for 40 years, and change will still happen. Just ask Barb Knoll, Legal Administrative Assistant at Gentex. Four decades ago, she started at Gentex as a production employee. During that time, Gentex has changed and grown by taking chances on new opportunities as they came along-and so has Barb’s career.

Upon Barb’s graduation from high school in 1983, unemployment was high, and good jobs were hard to come by. Barb worked at the celery co-op in Hudsonville. After the celery season ended, her brother-in-law suggested applying at Gentex, as his sister worked there and could give her a recommendation.

On the eve of her interview, there was a snowstorm predicted. She parked her car in the church parking lot, about a mile from where she lived, and was able to make it to her interview at Gentex where she was offered a part-time job working mornings at the front desk.

She only worked at the front desk for a few weeks—a full-time position opened up on the production line for fire protection, so she made the switch. 

“When I started, everyone was in the Chicago Drive building,” Barb recalled. “The mirrors weren’t electrochromic but motorized.  We also built door alarms for Amway.”

In 1990, Beth Padnos, a technician, suggested Barb sign up for the prototype job that was posted. After giving it some thought, Barb decided to take her advice. 

“When I started in prototype, it was before Microsoft Office was available. We had a blue screen and had to learn or know certain keystrokes in order to create a nice-looking document. Computers have changed how we get our work done - I have to say that is the biggest change I've seen over time,” she said.

In 1997, Barb experienced more career changes at Gentex. One of the engineers approached her and asked if she would be interested in controlling the customer prints and standards, as well as doing secretarial work. She took up the offers and expanded the range of her jobs and skillsets.

Later on, in 2008, she took a role in IMDS. The jobs she had moved with her throughout the company as she moved from the Electrical group to Corporate Labs in 2010. Finally, in 2016, Barb moved to her current position on the Legal team.

When reflecting on the company's past, she remembers watching the Centennial East addition go up and being amazed that the city of Zeeland allowed the company to shut down Centennial Street to build over it.

“It has been so much fun watching Gentex grow through the years,” she said. “40 years ago, I never saw it coming!” 

When asked about what makes Gentex unique and why she's stayed at the company for so long Barb feels her perspective has changed over the years. “40 years ago, would answer would have been, ‘it’s a paycheck,'” she said. 

“30 years ago, I would say it was all the new products being developed, as well as the people I worked with. The EE group was such a great group and I learned so much working with them. 20 and 10 years ago, I would have said it was a stable income, as well as the good people," she continued.

“Today, I have to say it is the people I interact with daily, they are the best part of Gentex. I really appreciate how the company treats and values each employee,” said Barb. “Hearing how other companies function - I realize how spoiled we are, and how good we have it here.” 

 


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