Who’s Who Series: TACO Seating Warehouse Manager Jay Ortiz

As part of our ongoing Who’s Who series, join us in getting to know TACO Seating Warehouse Manager Jay Ortiz. 

In 2021, TACO announced the addition of a new marine seating and upholstery division in Largo, Florida called TACO Seating. Since then, our team in Largo has grown – with several new faces coming onboard to help streamline operations. One of these new faces is Warehouse Manager Jay Ortiz, who joined the company in August 2022.

Prior to joining team TACO, Ortiz worked for more than 15 years in warehouse management in the solar industry – creating and implementing new processes and managing Quality Control Process Charting. This type of chart is used to measure whether something is meeting standards and to identify areas of improvement.

Ortiz came onboard to TACO Seating with a goal of establishing new process controls in material movements. 

“I oversee all inbound receiving and outbound shipping, picking for production lines, packaging of finishing goods and team building,” explained Ortiz.

Supporting his team and maintaining open communications are important to Ortiz, who conducts daily group huddles that encourage accountability and the setting of goals. He also works to not only understand everyone’s role at TACO, but to learn about his team members’ interests and how it relates to their work and life outside the workplace.

“My biggest goal for my team is to create a trust within one another in order to obtain the goal TACO has set as a whole,” he said. “My goal as the leader of this team is to create efficient processes to make TACO profitable.”

Ortiz believes in the mantra, “I’m not afraid of being wrong”, and encourages his team to share the good, the bad or mediocre with each other without judgement.

“When one accepts the fact that you were wrong, it allows one to learn something about oneself or another,” he said. 

When asked what makes TACO a great place to work, Ortiz said it is the company’s diversity within its work force.

“Having diverse teams has proven to provide positive financial and moral rewards,” he said. “I’ve found in the short time I’ve been here that TACO is highly involved in its teams and recognizes and supports positive attitudes, which drives great team morale.” 

Originally from Cape May, New Jersey, Ortiz moved to Florida 1985. Outside of work, he is an avid golfer and coaches little league baseball. Finding work/life balance is important to Ortiz, who said that his family not only keeps him balanced but understands his drive to succeed. 

Thank you for all you do for Team TACO, Jay!