THE PEOPLE BUILDING
LANCASTER COUNTY
For Teon Robertson, Lancaster County isn't just where he works. It's home.
Born and raised in Lancaster, Teon has spent his life watching the community change and has spent the past seven years growing his career at Cooley Group.
Today, Teon serves as an Inline Compound Lead, helping produce the initial material that is used throughout Cooley’s manufacturing process. But his current role is just one chapter in his Cooley story. Before the company introduced its inline compounding process, Teon worked in several different roles on the manufacturing floor, gaining experience along the way and continuing to learn.
His advice to anyone looking to grow at Cooley is simple:
| “There is a lot of opportunity to grow here. As long as you want to learn and are willing to listen and pay attention, you can learn a lot of stuff and move around.”
For Teon, growth isn't just about learning a new position. It's also about being part of a team where employees have a voice.
He enjoys troubleshooting challenges with his coworkers and finding solutions together. And when decisions are being made, he says employees aren't simply left out on the floor, they're brought into the conversation.
| “They want our opinions in the decision-making processes,” Teon shared, describing Cooley’s culture as very much an “open-door policy.”
That sense of community extends beyond the work itself. Teon says that after spending so much of his life, and so many of his days, around the people at Cooley, his coworkers have become like “aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters” to him.
And as someone who has called Lancaster home his entire life, Teon has a unique perspective on where this community has been, and where it is going.
He remembers the challenges Lancaster faced following the decline of the textile industry and the closure of Springs Industries. But he has also watched new opportunities emerge and businesses invest in the community again.
For Teon, companies like Cooley Group represent more than jobs.
| “With companies like Cooley Group coming around, it's giving people hope.”
Lancaster is home. And the people who live, work and grow here are helping build its future.
What happens when a leader's job is to make sure the people around him have everything they need to succeed?
For Charles Wingate III, it means showing up for his team whenever they need him.
Charles has spent 22 years working in maintenance and the past two years as the Facilities Engineering Manager at Cooley Group, where he leads a team of roughly 10 maintenance professionals.
His approach to leadership is simple:
| “My job as a manager and leader is to provide my team with the tools they need to best do their job.”
At Cooley, maintenance is a job that doesn't always fit neatly into a 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. When an issue arises, Charles and his team work together to find a solution, and sometimes that means answering a call at 2:00 in the morning.
| “If you have a problem, call me.”
That commitment extends beyond the workplace. Charles says his team knows they can reach him outside of work when they need him, and after two years in his role, not a single member of his maintenance team has left.
For Charles, it's about more than managing a team. It's about building relationships.
| “When issues come up, we collaborate as a team.”
That same sense of connection is what drew Charles to Lancaster, and he says the community's “family feel” is one of the reasons he enjoys working here.
He also brings 14 years of military service with the Air Force Reserve to his life outside of Cooley, with six years of service remaining before he retires.
But perhaps the most fitting part of Charles' story is that, before joining Cooley, he didn't know what was happening behind the sign.
He used to drive past the Cooley Group sign in Lancaster on his way home. He saw the company but didn't know what they did or the opportunities that existed inside.
Now, he's one of the people helping build its future. And that's exactly why Charles believes it's important to tell these stories.
| “To get Cooley out there and let people know that Lancaster is a great place and Cooley is a great place to work at is important to show people the opportunities that are here.”
Lancaster County is home to businesses creating opportunities, and behind those businesses are people like Charles who are helping build something bigger than themselves.
For Chris Altman, growth isn't just something he talks about. He's lived it.
Chris has spent the past nine years at Cooley Group, where he currently serves as the Production Supervisor for Line 2, overseeing approximately 26 employees across four shifts.
When Chris first started at Cooley, he wasn't a supervisor. He started on the production floor, working his way from the back of Line 1 and eventually into the leadership role he holds today.
| “When I started 9 years ago, I was on the back of Line 1, moved to the front of Line 1, then jumped to Line 2, and worked my way up to where I am now.”
That experience is something Chris takes pride in. He has personally worked every job on the production floor, giving him firsthand knowledge of the work his employees do every day.
| “All of the jobs on the floor, I have personally ran myself. So, I can relate and help in a lot of ways.”
Today, Chris' responsibilities include quality control, staffing and making sure the products leaving the production line meet the standards Cooley promises to its customers. But what he enjoys most isn't necessarily the production itself, it's the people.
| “As a production supervisor, I enjoy dealing with the people, the conversations and the different personalities.”
Chris says understanding how different employees respond best allows him to help them become better at what they do.
And he's seen plenty of change during his nine years at Cooley.
After the disruption of COVID-19, production operations and staffing contracted. Over the past two to three years, Chris has watched Cooley steadily work toward rebuilding its 24/7 production capabilities. Today, Line 2 operates 24/7, and the company is working to bring Line 1 back to a full 24/7 operation as demand continues to grow.
| “The demand is there for 24/7 at the plant, so that's what we're shooting for in the next couple of months.”
For Chris, that growth represents more than an expanding operation. It represents opportunity for the company, for its employees and for the community around it.
| “There's a tremendous amount of growth opportunities here. As long as you can show initiative and that it's something you want, the opportunities are there.”
And when asked what he would consider Lancaster County's biggest selling point?
| “Growth would be my selling point for Lancaster County.”
For nine years, Chris has been part of that growth, learning the operation from the ground up, building his career and helping lead the people who keep Cooley Group moving forward.
Behind every product, process and production line are people who show up every day ready to learn, lead and help one another grow.
Meet Leo Murillo, Team Lead for Front of Line Extrusion at Cooley Group. For the past two years, Leo has brought his experience in the extrusion process to Cooley’s Lancaster operation, where he oversees a team of employees working on his line.
For Leo, one of the best parts of working at Cooley is the people. He appreciates the positive communication across the facility and the willingness of employees to learn from one another.
| “I like helping people. They're always willing to learn and I'm always willing to teach.”
Leo also sees opportunity for continued growth at Cooley and values a workplace where employees at every level feel seen and appreciated. He shared that when leadership visits the Lancaster facility, the CEO and CFO take the time to connect with employees and make them feel valued.
And when asked about the people he works alongside, Leo put it simply: “It feels like a small home.”
That sense of teamwork, mentorship and opportunity is what makes Lancaster County’s manufacturing community strong.
