Kevin Person retired from Wagstaff Inc., the Spokane Valley-based manufacturer of aluminum casting equipment on March 29, after 13 years as the company’s CEO and a 47-year career in the aluminum industry. 

Born in Minneapolis, Person, 70, moved with his parents to Spokane when he was a young child in the 1950s when his father, an engineer, accepted a role at Kaiser Aluminum Corp., in Spokane Valley. 

Person graduated from Central Valley High School and went on to college at the University of Washington, where he pursued a degree in mechanical engineering. During his undergraduate career, Person interned at the aircraft company, Boeing Co. Rather than staying in Seattle and working for Boeing, upon graduating Person returned to Spokane and took an engineering role with Kaiser Aluminum where he worked for 21 years. In 1998, he joined Wagstaff as an application engineering manager. He later became the vice president of sales and marketing and in 2011, was named the company’s CEO. 

The Journal recently met with Person to discuss his decades-long career, its highlights, and his retirement plans. 

What made you return to Spokane and work in aluminum after college instead of staying at Boeing?  

When I was going to college in Seattle in the early 70s, Boeing had actually had a big downturn but was picking up again when I was graduating. It was a great experience, and I had enjoyable assignments while I was going through college. Boeing was a large company, no question about it. Kaiser came off as much more tight-knit and family-oriented. The work at Boeing was interesting but hectic. I enjoyed some things there, but then there were things that I saw that seemed like I was a cog in a wheel. 

For example, one day I was at work in the bullpen with hundreds of engineers and designers. About six rows over, a gentleman had a heart attack and passed away there at his desk. The next day, there was somebody else sitting at his desk. That left an impression on me. Kaiser came across much better. The warm relationships I established at Kaiser and still have today, and certainly the ones I got here at Wagstaff have been great. I feel very fortunate to have worked for two companies in my life. I’ve been the CEO here since 2011, and it’s been quite a thrill.

Looking back, what have been some of the highlights of your career? 

Some of the highlights have been associated with some of the projects that I’ve had and been involved with over the years. One highlight is from when I was still working with Kaiser. The project was just north of St. Petersburg, Russia in which we were converting Russian technology in a smelter to Kaiser’s technology. The Russian technology was highly polluting the air, and it was a very unhealthy environment inside the facility. That particular Russian aluminum company agreed on a contract in which Kaiser would design and install some of our technology to clean up the environment in their facility.

When we went in, they were running their equipment. We installed our replacement equipment next to it and once it was running, we could literally see a line in the atmosphere where we had cleaned up part of the air in the facility. It was wonderful to be able to have that type of impact and the workers were very grateful for it. That makes you feel good as an engineer to know you had that type of impact. 

Any setbacks or obstacles that you faced?

Not for me personally. Some of the most dangerous times were not here at Wagstaff, but at Kaiser. It’s a very dangerous environment at times. I was working at plants where there were fatalities, and that’s never a good time to be around and see the pain that their families and other workers go through.

I tell everyone here at Wagstaff, when I’m walking around or meeting a new worker, to have a safe day. One of the main points I tell people is that there is nothing here that we do that is worth getting hurt. Don’t ever put yourself in an unsafe position or act in an unsafe way just because a production schedule says you have to do something quickly. 

I did spend a lot of time away from my family. There are times when I would be away for four or five weeks in a row, then return home for one week or two, and then be back on the road traveling again. I’ve been able to visit around the world, been to roughly 58 countries. It’s a lot of time away from my family. That is one of the more difficult challenges. But I also feel fortunate to be able to meet and greet that many people around the world. 

Is there a different path you wish you would have taken in your career? 

Ever since I was a little boy, I always built model airplanes. I think being a pilot would be fun with my personality and background. I wish I had the skills and rapid thinking process of my youngest son, Mike, who is the vice president of finance here at Wagstaff. My other son, Matt, is a pilot for Delta Airlines down in Atlanta, Georgia. They both have skills and I’m envious and wish I had more of those skills.  

But I've been very fortunate to finish my career here at Wagstaff. The level of commitment they have to the community and employees I just cannot say enough about. I've enjoyed every day that I've come to work here. I couldn't have imagined finishing my career working with my son, Mike. And I couldn't ask for a better way for a career to have finished than to end it here at Wagstaff.

Have you ever flown with your son, the pilot?

Yes. My father retired in Ellensburg, Washington, and one time, before he passed away, Matt rented a plane out of Felts Field Airport and flew me and my wife over to see my dad, his grandfather. My dad got to see us land, and we visited with him for the day and then flew back. I know my dad really enjoyed that.

What are your plans for retirement? 

Starting Monday, April 1, my wife Carol and I will drive down to Atlanta to visit our son and remodel his and his wife’s master bathroom. We did their guest bathroom about four years ago, and it was the first time I ever did something like that. I really enjoyed it. Then we were on a schedule because I needed to be back at work, but now we will take our time and spend time with my son and his wife.

I enjoy skiing and golfing and hope to do that more. When I worked for Kaiser, my wife and I lived in Ghana for three years and I got to play golf every day. I don’t know if I’ll be doing it as often as back then, but certainly, I’ll be doing a lot more.