Welcome to February, everyone! Between recovering from the big game last weekend, celebrating Valentine’s Day, and prepping for March Madness, a lot is going on—and we’re busy here at Abt, too. We’ve got exciting projects coming up, and figured that it was the perfect time to feature a key member of our Builder’s Division (Abt’s department for building and rehabbing spaces). Meet Rafal Kubalski, this month’s Employee Spotlight! Rafal is our Builder Division Manager and has had a unique 16-year career here. He has a history that stretches from driving trucks across town to standing at the top of Chicago skyscrapers. We had a blast discussing his history and some of the exciting things he’s done here at Abt.
With Rafal’s Employee Spotlight, we started at the very beginning and asked him how he first heard about Abt. Like so many people in Chicagoland, “I grew up visiting the Morton Grove location as a customer. I had a few friends that worked there and spoke very highly of their jobs.” When he began at Abt, his career path was slightly different than some might imagine. “I started as an appliance delivery driver and installer, and now I am the manager for the Builder Division.”
He got into the Builder field “almost right away when I got here. I had just spent a year driving a semi-truck across the US, so I became the guy that could deliver large truckloads of appliances to the buildings downtown.” The department started to grow quickly, and “we realized there was a need to establish a dedicated delivery department for these projects. I began to work with our staff to build that.”
Working On Top Of The World
Our Employee Spotlight had created an entirely new department, and now it was time to get to work. We asked Rafal what some of his favorite projects were that he loved being a part of. “I love driving into the city and looking at how the skyline has filled up with projects we were a part of. Some of these include The St. Regis, One Chicago Square, and the Trump Tower, which was the first large project I was a part of. While it was being built, I even got to take the skip elevator to the roof of the building and literally stand on top of the city!” That sounds like an incredible experience you wouldn’t be able to replicate, even in the Dave Abt theater with the new Samsung Wall TV.
“There are so many (great memories at Abt). That’s because they all have one thing in common: spending time with coworkers who have become family. We’ve gone on vacations, rented apartments together, stood up at each other’s weddings, watched our kids grow up, and helped each other get through hard times. A recent one that comes to mind is when last year my entire department dressed up as me for my birthday!”
There’s nothing like having a strong group of coworkers ready to stand by you through it all, and Rafal feels the love in the Builder’s Division: a department he helped to expand and make into what it is now. We asked him what he really loved about his job, and his response really struck a chord with us.
Growth For Individuals & For Projects
“(I love) the opportunity for growth and skills you learn here. I started as a young 23-year-old who could barely hold a drill correctly. I’ve applied the electrical, plumbing and carpentry concepts I’ve learned here to be able to fully remodel homes I’ve lived in. I’ve learned things about construction, logistics, purchasing, managing people, customer service, sales, business development, and marketing. I started here delivering refrigerators and now I’m privileged to sit in meetings with leaders of Fortune 500 companies that want to hear my opinion in this business. There are not many places where something like that can happen, and that’s why this is truly a special place.”
In 2024, our Employee Spotlight Rafal is looking forward to new projects and expansions coming from the Builder’s Division. You might hear the Abt name on projects outside Chicagoland, including out west! To learn more about our Builder’s Division, check out our video below.
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