Blog on technical Tips
Hello my name is Thomas Barraza and I have been an Employee of Ed Raichert Inc. for the last 38 years. Basically I was told by one of my friends that worked here at Ed Raicherts that they were looking for a new utility employee that be able to do several different chores when needed. I was working at a large box spring manufacturing company after graduating High School at the time. And didn’t waist anytime grabbing my gear & my last check,said my good byes and ran out the door,straight to ERI. There I was introduced to the world of Commercial/Industrial Sewing Machine Sales & Service originally located and migrated from Chicago Ill. And I’ve been here ever since. I was quickly Introduced to Mr Ed Raichert & his 2 Sons Les & Ron Raichert as well as the rest of the crew. I don’t think I’ve ever met a better group of Family member that ran the show here. One of my first chores was to sweep the shop floors & wipe & clean the new Sewing Machines we had in the showroom,then I was put in charge of the Set Up Dept,where the sewing machines had to be fully assembled & tested. Also had to be delivered locally by you know who! (me). I also was driving this big yellow full size Ford F-150 long bed with a pneumatic lift gate for deliveries & repossessions (we also rented machines) so I would have to brave walking into a yard with a big dog barking at me from the font door & explain to the customer that I was there to repo their rented machine due to non payments. That was kind of exciting because I was in my early 20s & not really afraid of the experience that was about to come my way. Anyways after a few years of working & running just about every dept this company had,except for the office work. The Techs that followed Ed Raichert to Phx from Chicago realized Phx was perfect for playing golf. They would ask me on my spare time to help the repair machines on the bench. Once I mastered the ability to repair mostly upholstery machines. They would run off to play golf leaving me to repair the machines that were waiting to be serviced. I really didn’t mind it at all I was gaining experience & knowledge to repair multiple makes & models of machines that manufactured at that time. I wound up adapting to the newer Juki Machines being sold up to this very day. Now I sell,service Juki Industrial sewing Machines & sometimes offer my knowledge when needed. Its a honor working this long for Les Raichert the CO of Ed Raichert Inc. I’ll be writing about some repair & adjusting tips as we go along. Adios for now. Take Care.. Thomas Barraza
Liked the story, glad to know that the people we bought our Juki from are experienced, and love their job.