Marty Garris, maintenance manager at our oriented strand board plant in Elkin, North Carolina — has a love of machinery and making things work, which drew his interest early in his 37-year career at Weyerhaeuser. But it's the people that he considers to be at the heart of our core values.
It’s not unusual for people to praise their teammates and coworkers at Weyerhaeuser. Many — including Marty Garris, maintenance manager at our oriented strand board plant in Elkin, North Carolina — consider people to be the heart of our core values.
“The people make the place,” he says. “And that's where our focus should be. A good team is key to both safety and reliability. I was taught ’Team Concept’ when I started here years ago, which includes the value of learning and working together as a team. That’s always stuck with me.”
Another key to successful teamwork for Marty throughout his 37 years at Weyerhaeuser has been a love of machinery and making things work, which drew his interest early in his career with the company.
“Having done the work makes it a little easier to be a maintenance manager, because most of the time I understand what my team is talking about,” he says. “My goal is to help make Elkin the safest, most reliable mill in Wood Products — and to see it run at least another 40 years.”
MEET MARTY
Your title is maintenance manager. Tell us what you do.
I lead the maintenance team here at Elkin. It’s a great team to work with. We do our best to ensure the safe and reliable operation of all the plant’s machinery and mobile equipment. Lots of my time now is spent looking one to three years down the road, helping make sure we have the right equipment in place for the future of Elkin.
I'm also responsible for giving my team the tools and training they need to do their jobs. To me, safety and reliability go hand in hand, because when we have a reliable workplace, we have a safe workplace.
What led you to choose this job?
I started at Elkin in 1989. I was 20 and my first job was working in utilities, which meant I spent most my time sweeping the floor. I always loved seeing how machines work. I love knowing how they're made, how to fix them, and how to put them back together. It's just always been a passion for me. So, I worked my way up to an operator, then maintenance trainee, then a journey level mechanic. A few years back, I was a maintenance planner and scheduler and then blending/forming/pressing area manager. I've been the maintenance manager since December 2025.
It's always been amazing to me what people can do with machinery, and I love being part of this team.
Tell us what your day is like.
I start my morning by checking Proficy, the program we use to track all our downtime. Our operators’ responsibility is to charge that downtime correctly to the affected equipment. I check Proficy and operator logs, then talk to the operators if it’s been a bad shift, find out what happened. That way, we know what to work on that day, or we’ll make a plan and schedule for it to be repaired during our next down day.
I think of maintenance and operations as one big team, talking back and forth with each other. The closer we work together, communicate and listen to each other, the better this place will be.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Whatever the challenge is, I know we have somebody on site who can fix it. We all work well together and it's just a good place to work. It always has been and it still is.
You must have some challenges. What are they?
We’ve had a lot of retirements, which means a lot of knowledge has walked out the door. It’s hard to find people to take their place. Working at a 24/7 OSB operation isn’t the easiest job a person can have. It takes great communication, dedication and teamwork to keep everything going.
What advice would you give people who want a job like yours?
Start focusing on where you want to be in a few years. Learn all you can about the field you’re interested in and learn from several different people who are experts at what they do. Don’t wait for them to come to you — ask questions and volunteer to work with them as often as you can.
Who are your customers in your role?
Everyone on the Elkin team, and their families, who count on the mill being safe and reliable. Also the contractors who do maintenance work here, contract loggers, vendors and really everyone who expects this place to run, and run well. If you do the math, there are thousands of people who depend on Elkin OSB in one way or another.
What do you like about your team?
These are a group of guys who'll do anything you ask them. Many of our maintenance guys have got this tough look about them and all that stuff. But they're really a bunch of tender-hearted men who will give you the clothes off their back. They're just a great team to work with, and I think a lot of every one of them. And it’s not just the maintenance team — everyone at this mill will help you any way that they can.
Tell us about your other interests. What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I love spending time with my family and being outside. There's nothing better than going outside a few minutes before daylight and listening to the world come to life. My son and I shoot guns when we have time, and I go hunting when I get a chance. My wife Angie and I share three kids who are all grown and two grandkids. We have a few cows, and I really enjoy watching the calves grow up. My wife is a big help with the cows, especially if one of them is sick. We also have a small house that we're fixing up and hope to rent out sometime next year.
