Employee Spotlight: Nick Thelen, Team Lead | Welder | Mechanical Jack-of-All-Trades

If you’ve ever wandered through the shop and heard someone humming “Soulshine” by the Allman Brothers or talking about converting a horse trailer into a mobile bar, chances are you’ve run into Nick Thelen.

Nick’s official title is Team Lead, but he wears many hats at KDS. Whether he’s building fans, welding new prototypes, or helping engineers improve drawings based on real-world efficiency, Nick is the guy who gets it done, no fuss, no drama, just results.

Before KDS, Nick was a factory-trained Harley tech. Building bikes was his childhood dream, and he chased it with determination. But once he found his way to our shop through a friend of a friend, he never looked back. Today, he has been with KDS since 2016 and has contributed to nearly every project in the building, including in-house CDK structure fabrication and overseeing complex burner builds.

Ask Nick what makes the job worth showing up for, and he’ll tell you: variety. No two days are the same, and that’s just how he likes it. “If I do the same thing too long, I get burnt out. But here? There’s always something new, and I love that.”

Outside of work, Nick’s life is just as full. He’s a father of four, a gym rat by 4:00 a.m., and a karaoke fiend by night. He crafts incredible metal art out of scrap parts, including custom pieces made from horseshoes, crankshafts, and whatever else he can salvage from the scrapyard.

Fun fact? He eats the same pack of peanut butter crackers at break nearly every day, and his go-to walk-in song would be Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” Enough said.

Nick’s philosophy? “Don’t expect anything, be pleasantly surprised with anything you get.” Spoken like a man who’s welded, parented, problem-solved, and karaoke’d his way through life with equal parts grit and good humor.

Employee Spotlight: Wayne Bradley, Production Supervisor at KDS Windsor

Meet Wayne Bradley, one of the driving forces behind our production team at KDS Windsor! As Production Supervisor, Wayne oversees the production of kiln parts and leads the talented team that makes it all happen.

What sets Wayne apart? His 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲, 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. Known for his people-first approach, Wayne builds an environment where employees feel trusted, valued, and empowered.

Here’s what Wayne has to say about his leadership philosophy:

“𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳.”

Wayne’s ability to inspire trust and avoid micromanagement has earned him the loyalty of his team. At KDS Windsor, we’re proud to have leaders like Wayne who cultivate a workplace where people thrive.

When he’s not at work, Wayne loves being in nature, hiking, and spending quality time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. His love for the outdoors and family reflects the same dedication and care he brings to his role at KDS Windsor.

Join us in celebrating Wayne and his incredible contributions to our team!