Meet Alfonso Mendiola: July 2025 Employee of the Month

If you're familiar with Superman, you probably know he's "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." Long story short--the man wears a lot of capes. Of course, Superman's ability to seemingly do everything is something July's Employee of the Month can relate to. It's one thing to protect the citizens of Metropolis every day, but another to keep an entire facility running at its peak. This month's award winner has not just jumped into the fray feet first but came in when they were needed the most. In a short amount of time, they've become indispensable, using their unique set of skills to help KrisTech navigate the ERP launch, get organized, and drive value for our team and customers. That's why we're proud to announce our own Man of Steel for July is none other than Alfonso Mendiola!

From Clark Kent to Superman

Since the day Alfonso joined KrisTech's Houston facility, he has been nothing short of remarkable. "Alfonso joined KT just as we were entering the launch phase of our ERP project," Supply Chain Director Marcus Tagliaferri said. "He brought so much talent to the table with his technical skills, experience, communication, research, and dedication to learning and growing." From becoming Shaun's go-to person on the facility floor to tackling IT projects for the team, he quickly earned his stripes. And while he might not be taking down Lex Luthor or Bizarro, Alfonso does use his range of skills for the betterment of all KT employees. "He helped the company and ERP team tremendously by installing printers, setting up scanners, testing, and validating the system," Tagliaferri explained. "Because of this, the Houston Team didn't need any on-site support and got the system up and running quickly and accurately. This is probably the reason why the IT Team calls him the Houston IT guy."

Setting An Example

Just like the people of Metropolis depend on Superman when danger comes, the people of KrisTech rely on Alfonso to keep a keen eye on inventory. Alfonso recently took the initiative to share daily inventory reports with the Sales team, promoting product availability and efficiency to earn new orders. He's also worked closely with the Supply Chain team to learn KT's Finished Goods stocking methodology and how the Houston team plans TOs. "He monitors Rome sales orders daily and looks for opportunities for Houston to ship products immediately, reducing Rome's production and capacity burdens. He has also taken the lead to implement ERP system-driven cycle counts in Rome, working directly with all the stakeholders to provide training, solutions, and, most importantly, support."

A Friend to All

Just like Superman's alter-ego, Clark Kent, Alfonso spends most of his time being a mild-mannered, nice guy. "Alfonso shows his commitment to excellence and leading by example by continuously meeting his daily responsibilities and going above and beyond daily," Tagliaferri explained. "He's a very kind person, always positive, never flustered, and very consistent in his performance. His personal traits and technical skills have aligned so well with KrisTech's values, and we can't thank him enough for all his contributions and the value he has provided in such a short time."

Celebrating Our Nominees

Alfonso took home the hardware this month, but he was one of several nominees for July. Other contenders included: Scott Beckwith – Scott fields customer needs faster than the Sales team can even type, “Can you check on this?” He responds to sometimes a dozen Andon requests every day and finds ways to accommodate occasionally optimistic lead times that may or may not have been entered by the Sales team. His commitment to getting things right has improved on-time delivery metrics and dramatically reduced late lines. Melinda Tupper – Her commitment to following processes, asking questions when something’s off, and driving improvements has helped boost OEE on the E-0 line this month. Melinda has also become a key partner in Building Trusted Relationships with both IT and Engineering, offering insights that support ongoing system and process enhancements. Come back next month to find out who joins Alfonso, Justin, Kristy, Thomas, Charles, Kelly, David, Justin, and Drew as our Employee of the Year nominees!