Doug Meaker displays his Cat badge proudly, and what drives that is the impact he sees his work has on the bigger picture, “What I make helps people – helps with mining. It is our responsibility to get the product out the door to satisfy the customer,” he said. It is that sense of pride and Doug’s commitment to driving quality work that has carried him through a sixty-year career with Caterpillar.
Doug began his career journey with Caterpillar in the 1950’s working on third shift as a Machinist in a factory on the East Peoria, IL campus. He describes his fondest memory of his early career as the moment he “realized you get paid overtime if you work on the weekend.” Over the course of his 60 year tenure, Doug has made a lot of connections with employees from various campuses; “his connections are critical to assisting in our day to day operations, said supervisor Andrew Brazee, he has a positive attitude and is always willing to help with any job of any size. He always says to me ‘what do you need boss?’”
Today Doug can be found working as a Materials Specialist moving materials across the East Peoria, IL campus. “I enjoy the people I work with and the people I work for, several of my family members have also had long careers with Caterpillar, working here for more than 30 years,” he said. Much has changed within Caterpillar over the last 60 years, and Doug says it just continues to get better, “The safety culture at Caterpillar is impressive, they really take the time to stress that in all aspects of our job.”
So what kind of career advice can someone with more than half a century of experience offer to those who are just beginning their journey? “If you are considering working for Caterpillar, by all means do it. This is a great place to work, and I make a good living here. I am proud to see Cat products working around the world. I am always amazed by our machines and the work they do.”
With no plans to retire anytime soon, it can be certain Doug will continue to keep his eyes open for Cat products hard at work while he enjoys frequent vacations with his family.
Caterpillar values each of our employees and the contributions they make towards helping our customers build a better world. Thank you for your time, dedication and years of service Doug, you have truly made an impact.
