New facility manager says EJ USA in Schroeppel is ‘growing like crazy’ with recent record-breaking years in sales; envisions further growth in Central New York
By Stefan Yablonski
John Murray is the new manager at EJ USA, one of the largest manufacturing plants in Oswego County. He succeeded longtime plant manager Tim McKernan, who retired in 2025.
“I’ve been doing this for eight months now. Time flies when you’re having fun,” Murray quipped in January.
EJ USA manufactures infrastructure access solutions such as manhole frames, grates, covers and hatches.
“I had lunch with Tim a handful of times. We had a good time. He is enjoying retirement. I asked him for a few pointers on some situations. He’s loving it, but I think he’s getting to the point where he wants to find a part-time gig (laughs). You work all your life and then retire, it’s a change,” Murray said.
Murray came to EJ in 2004, “Straight out of college,” starting in manufacturing.
He has a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University. He earned his professional engineering license in the spring of 2012. He describes himself as a hands-on guy.
“I love manufacturing. This is a perfect fit for me. My engineering background really lends itself to the product design end of things,” he added.
He said he hasn’t really changed much at the plant. “They say it takes a good year for anyone to really get into the swing of things and grow into a position like this,” he said. “I’m continuing to learn and kind of grow with the people. It’s a change for them as well. They are figuring me out and vice versa. I have a direction and a trajectory for the facility that makes sense and is sustainable to stay here in New York. I want to continue to grow here locally.”
Right now, they are down a couple of people.
“We are looking to fill some positions. We got 80 on the floor and around 100 with sales, engineering and others as well,” he said. “We have created a lot of jobs and have launched different product lines.”
They are looking to replace a couple pieces of key equipment “for longevity’s sake.”
“We have some things that are a little dated — key pieces that we really need to have at the forefront of technology, safety and that sort of thing,” he explained. “Technology moves so fast, things that were relevant a few years ago aren’t relevant today. For example, you can’t get the control board because they were obsolete a couple years ago and you’re lucky if you can even find parts for stuff now.”
Murray credits McKernan for helping him prepare for his new position.
“He brought me into things like BOCES and P-tech. I continue to be involved with Oswego County Workforce Development Board,” he said.
In January, he went to CiTi BOCES for its P-tech program.
“EJ does an engineering challenge with them,” he explained. “It advances the engineering principals as they relate to real life through a little project. There were probably 120 kids up there that we work with. We do one a year with them. They try to do roughly one a month and EJ is one of the business partners. I am on the advisory council for the P-tech program. Recently I joined their CTE program.
“We have hired people from their programs. I currently have an engineering intern that came out of their P-tech program. I do mentoring up there on campus and he happened to be one of my mentees over the years. So, I got to know him pretty well. He is a bright young individual. He has been working with us now since last spring. That’s another success story from right here in Central New York.”
EJ is building for the future for fabrication in Central New York.
“The plan is for EJ to stay here. The building was new in 2019; we already built in room for expansion,” he said. “We are growing like crazy. We have had record-breaking years for the last three years ever since the tail end of COVID-19 things really took off. We were deemed an essential business during COVID, so we never shut down. Coming out of the pandemic, I think a lot of the projects that had not come to fruition all of a sudden were playing catch up. We have come off of banner years.”
Some continuous improvement projects are under way at EJ and they’re doing some streamlining.
“We are in the planning stages for some bigger equipment purchases along with some other smaller stuff that we are going to do now. We’re making sure we have got the latest and greatest equipment for productivity’s sake,” he said. “We are always going after more work and we want to be able to support what our customers expect from us. We stay in tune with local construction. We are always keeping our ear to the ground on any projects coming up. Winter is typically the slow season. We deliver all over the US, so we’re pretty flush with work right now. We’re trying to chew through it in the winter season before the mad rush in the springtime when the snow melts and things get going.”
Micron probably will mean more business for EJ depending on what stage of construction they are in.
“They’re going to need some drainage. We’re prepared to give them any type of drainage they might want — iron or fabricated steel to support that project,” he said.
Employee attraction and retention are important to EJ.
“EJ, being family owned, really values the work-life balance. I know I value it,” Murray said. “I’ve got four young children. I actually live in Cleveland. They go to school in the Camden district which is just over in Oneida.
“I’m a snowmobiler. I enjoy playing in the snow. Had the kids out recently and pulled them around on a sled. I like snow — but I don’t like getting dumped on.”
Murray owns some classic cars.
“They’re all asleep and put a way for the winter,” he said. “My dad was a mechanic for years and so I was kind of cut from that mold.”
Lifelines
Name: John Murray
Position: Facility manager, EJ USA in Schroeppel
Birth Date: Oct. 20, 1980
Birth Place: Utica
Residence: Cleveland
Education: Master of Sciences degree in mechanical engineering, Clarkson University
Affiliations: Professional Engineer, National Society of Professional Engineers, Practicing Institute of Engineering, American Society of Highway Engineers-Central NY, MACNY
Personal: Wife, Catherine; four children Emmalyn (9), Mairin (8), Haiden (3), Owen (1)
Hobbies: Racing, camping, snowmobiling, auto restoration.
