From the vast green landscapes of Ireland to the beautiful forests of Pine Mountain, Georgia – Tony Magee enjoys nature and tranquility in his private life. This is a great balance to his work, where he likes to keep busy, tackle challenges, and multitask his various areas of responsibility through highs and lows alike. From his early childhood on, he was a fighter. In the literal sense – he started boxing when he was 12 years of age, fought and won on county and regional levels in Ireland. He later continued boxing as a hobby in the USA, mainly to stay fit, but also in a trainer position to assist other aspiring boxers to get up to speed in the world of boxing.
Every year in early December, he joins the Pine Mountain Trail Run, which sends him 19 miles through nature, up steep inclines, and uneven paths. This hobby says a lot about his character: he seeks out challenges and finds fulfillment in conquering difficulties and overcoming obstacles. He was never one for the easy path and did not shy away from tough or unpredictable situations. Instead, he has always seen them as opportunities for growth.
“What I enjoy about trail running is that I can just run at my own pace, and it gives me peace of mind when I am surrounded by nature.”
He left Ireland in 1998 on a 3-year work contract to come to the United States, first to Virginia, then Georgia, and enjoyed the country so much that he wanted to stay there. Probably also because he met his wife there, a psychologist whom he has a son and a daughter with. Their children have since left the nest, and Tony and his wife too have left the city behind to find peace and quiet in Pine Mountain, about 30 miles south of Newnan. This September, they will be celebrating their 25th anniversary.
Always on the right trail
Tony Magee started his career in the mining and quarry industry, working with conveyor and crusher systems. Before he joined Grenzebach, he basically went around knocking on doors. Not the easy path, but the one he simply prefers to take – trail running in the truest sense of the word.
In 2003, he came to Grenzebach with an engineering degree and design experience and switched to 3D systems. He considered himself lucky at that time, worked for Grenzebach for five years, and then left again for some years to work back in his old area of responsibility, but only to return in 2011 when Grenzebach called him. Since 2012, he has been working as an Engineering Manager for Grenzebach Newnan. “I really like that I am involved in the whole experience of design and production”, he says.
His love for the rough running trails and steep inclines also mirrors his approach to his work life: adaptable, and attentive, but also with a lot of trust for his team. He is not one for micromanaging, instead, he is convinced that teamwork is always a two-way street. “You need to trust the people around you so that you can take a step back”, he explains. His team members are like a family to him, not only because he has known them for over twelve years now.
As an engineering manager, he has a support role for a variety of departments. His team is comprised of fifteen engineers, from mechanical design to electrical and robotic engineers from the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) part of the group. Tony himself has a planning and managing job where he assigns and manages a variety of tasks, and supports the manufacturing, purchasing, project engineering, and sales departments, among other things. So basically: the guy you want to have on-site if problems arise.
Never standing still
In boxing, as in trail running, it is always better to keep moving, because standing still will most likely lead to failure. “I like to move around”, Tony Magee says, because standing still has never been his option. A typical day will start with him just getting a general overview of what is what. He acts as the liaison between engineering and manufacturing and his days have a tight schedule, which obviously does not prevent unscheduled things from happening. And thank god for that, Tony Magee would say. Because this is exactly what he likes – the reaction part: recognizing the obstacle and then overcoming it. He finds his work at Grenzebach challenging, but also exciting and when being asked about his future aspirations, he is quick in deciding that this is exactly the work he wants to do: seeing what path this company will take and walking that path together. Or running it.
