WOMEN OF TANNER Carly Purcell, April 15, 2024April 20, 2024 In March, we celebrated Women’s History Month. This month focuses on women’s empowerment, accomplishments, and achievements. We recently chatted with Tanner’s own Maggie Soberal about her experience related to women in the workplace. Maggie currently works as the purchasing manager at Tanner’s Brooklyn headquarters. Read our interview with her interesting story below. Carly: How did you get started in this industry? Maggie: My mother owned a body shop at the time and there was a woman who rear-ended one of my uncle’s cars. She ran a woman-owned business in Elmsford and was looking for a receptionist. So I started doing that and after two weeks I [was] extremely bored. I was making $12.00 an hour and at 16 it was good money. She said we could try to field calls. I really [didn’t] know anything but here I am, 26 years later. Carly: Tell us a bit about your current role. Maggie: I’ve really only worked for two major companies. I worked for her company, Screws and More LLC, for almost 12 years and then ultimately I came [to Tanner] in July of 2010 and have been here since. I was hired as a Customer Service Representative in Brooklyn. In February of 2012, we opened our Long Island City branch and I became the branch manager. I moved from the branch manager and was given the opportunity to go to business development, then outside sales. I had worked on some accounts that I carried over from when I was a teenager that still buy from Tanner. Now I do purchasing but I still hold on to a few accounts for outside and those are some of them! They are like my babies. They’ve seen me grow so its been kind of crazy to see them grow along with me. And it’s been amazing to come into this field. I love this field. I love it. It’s like “challenge me!” Carly: Have you always looked for a challenge in your work? Maggie: Yes! That’s why I don’t only do purchasing. I also help around in the production side. I am now starting to do some working of the material for the Tanner in Maryland. So I’m starting to have some of the bulk stuff shipped down there and then I organize that to then come back up here once it’s all packaged. So [I’m] trying to do a whole entire flow through and supply chain now. Carly: Did you experience any mentorship in your roles? Maggie: At that time, there were only 5 people who worked at the location that I was at. And again, [my mentor] was a woman in a man’s industry, so if anything, Andis really inspired me. She taught me everything about screws and importing. I was able to then expand my knowledge to learn how to work with people in Thailand, Vietnam, and China [such as] getting up at 2:00 o’clock in the morning to do Zoom calls because it’s their normal time. She was definitely a big inspiration to me. Sometimes, it’s like they say, ‘right time, right opportunity’ because I don’t know how I would have ever found a job in this industry. The joke is you can hold the screw up across the warehouse and I’ll be able to tell you where we get it from, approximately how much we pay for it, and how many are in a box. I could tell you what kind of material it is just from looking. Other people look and see the screw make; I see the part number. So Andis really put that into me. She was definitely one of the first people who put me onto this. Carly: What specific characteristics helped you be successful in this industry? Maggie: Have a thick skin. Honestly, when you go to talk to somebody about a tool and you look like me, they’re always going to think [someone else] knows better. So you have to get used to that. That was the thing when I moved to sales. Everyone could pick up the phone to reach me, but then it was time to go out into the world. So [that] challenged me. A lot of accounts were rough. As long as I can sell the product, that’s all that matters. As long as I know what I’m talking about, that’s all that matters. I can show them how to use it, how it’s [going to] make their job easier, safer. Carly: What improvements or changes have you noticed in the industry over time? Maggie: [Women] are starting to be more predominant in this industry, which is something I love. My purchasing team is all women. I think women are detail oriented, can figure things out, and think emotionally and logically at the same time. There are also more women organizations now. I’m a member of the National Association of Women in Construction for New York and New Jersey, so I hold dual papers in both. I never had any formal training. It was basically a free for all [when I started out]. I got [to Tanner] and the world was my oyster! Now I have tons of certificates and validations. They have women cut safety vests. The safety jackets are now cut for a female. I think headgear might need to be looked at a little bit better because sometimes women do have a shallower or smaller face, [so] not all hard hats fit. But it takes time. I think its great to get women more involved. We just have to get more women in there. They’ve made some turning points, but I think we [have to] keep going. Women [have to] keep edging in a bit more. Carly: What advice do you have for young women who are in a male-dominated industry? Maggie: Be a sponge. Don’t ever say no. If you learn something new, it’s a good day. If you go outside every single day and apply just one thing, you’re smarter than you were the day before. Don’t be close-minded. Just because it’s not your job doesn’t mean you can’t learn it, because you never know when that might become your job or if you [will] change jobs. Always be willing to learn. The more you learn, the more value you bring to a table. That’s why I went back to school! I don’t mind stopping to teach anybody anything here because it’ll be used along the way. It’s really such a terrific industry to be in and I wish every woman would give it a shot. The old saying is that if you love your job, [you] never work a day in your life. I truly and genuinely do love my job. I try to find different ways to make it exciting for myself and always try to challenge myself. Contact Maggie at msoberal@tannerbolt.com Built on TRUST Est. 1965 Tanner News