A Lifetime of Learning: Gary Barton's 49-Year Journey

Long before Gary became one of JELD-WEN's most experienced maintenance professionals, he was the kid who liked taking things apart to see how they worked. He spent his free time working on cars, tinkering with mechanical systems and looking for ways to make things better. That same curiosity has guided his entire career.

After joining the company in April 1977, Gary began working in door layup before moving into a leadership role. A few years later, an opportunity opened in maintenance, and it felt like a natural fit. What started as a new challenge became a lifelong career. Today, after nearly five decades with the company, he has spent 45 of those years helping keep equipment running, solving problems and supporting the people around him.

For Gary, no two days are exactly alike.

A typical day might involve troubleshooting a machine breakdown, helping address a quality issue, supporting production teams or working on projects designed to improve operations. While the challenges vary, his favorite part of the job remains the same: finding solutions.

"Seeing the equipment running and working with coworkers to solve problems is the most rewarding part," he said. "Being able to help people and fix issues is what I enjoy most."

Over the years, he has tackled countless challenges, but one project still stands out. When employees were manually pushing doors to be picked up by forklift operators, Gary worked alongside his former manager to design and build an automated offloading system.

Building something from the ground up was exactly the kind of challenge he loves.

"I like tinkering and figuring things out," he said. "That's one of the projects I'm most proud of."

His approach to maintenance is rooted in teamwork. Rather than focusing solely on machines, he focuses on the people who operate them. When an issue arises, he works closely with operators and leaders to understand what happened, identify the root cause and find a solution together.

For him, the best results come from listening, collaborating and learning from one another.

That mindset extends beyond the plant floor.

Outside of work, Gary has spent 15 years coaching youth soccer and even started his own soccer club. The experience reinforced lessons he still carries with him today: teamwork, communication and helping others succeed. Whether on a soccer field or in a manufacturing facility, he believes the strongest teams are built when people support one another and work toward a common goal.

What may surprise people most is that, after so many years with the company, he still approaches every day as an opportunity to learn something new.

"I'm a firm believer that I try to learn something every day," he said. "Some days I do, some days I don't. But if I think I know it all, I'm done."

That simple philosophy has helped him adapt to new technologies, new processes and decades of change. More importantly, it has kept him engaged, curious and ready for whatever challenge comes next.

As JELD-WEN continues to evolve, Gary believes success comes down to something simple: people working together.

"The more we build relationships with our employees, managers and vendors, the better we become," he said. "When we work together to solve problems and support each other, that's how we build better."

After nearly five decades, Gary's legacy isn't just the equipment he's repaired or the projects he's helped complete. It's the mindset he brings every day: stay curious, keep learning and never stop looking for a better way forward.