Genesee: Made for the Trade, Volume 11

Campaign highlights variety and quality of jobs available at the state's oldest brewery

Note: This newsletter is a sponsored partnership between the Genesee Brewery and the Cleveland Prost.

Working at the Genesee Brewery is really a full-circle moment for Christopher Bancroft. After visiting every corner of the globe as an airplane mechanic in the United States Air Force, Bancroft is home again.

And he thinks there is a beautiful symmetry to that trajectory. The Air Force allowed him to travel extensively, and now being back in Rochester provides him the chance to be part of an iconic and institutional organization. He said the skills he learned in the Air Force allowed him to transition into a career at the brewery.

Bancroft followed his older brother into the military after his father told him he wouldn’t be able to pay for college. And after enlisting, Bancroft knew he wanted to make a career of it, wanted to get to the point where he could retire from service.

Through the Air Force, he visited Hawaii, Thailand, Japan, Guam, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, England, and Egypt. (And those are just the places he can recall off the top of his head.)

He retired and has spent the past seven years at Genny working in packaging maintenance. And pride is really a big motivation for what he does — it motivates him to do his best, to work well with his team, and to deliver the best product to the public.

Christopher Bancroft, a Rochester native who came to the brewery after 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, is the latest Genny employee to be featured in the brewery’s Made for the Trade campaign. Bancroft is the first to be highlighted during a special month of profiles to recognize the contributions of military veterans at the brewery.

The campaign shows the wide range of rewarding careers at the brewery. Genny employs more than 600 people and the brewing department, which numbers about 50 people, isn’t even the largest department at the expansive 28-acre St. Paul Street campus.

The digital campaign showcases careers in packaging, operations, maintenance, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, security, and so much more. It aims to show the range of careers available without a college degree, those that can be obtained through union and trade training.

More details about jobs can be found here: https://www.fifcousa.com/careers/.

Here’s a bit more about Christopher:

Q: What is your role at the Genesee Brewery?

A: I work in packaging maintenance.

Q: What was your job in the Air Force? What are some of the components or projects you worked on there?

A: My original trade was aircraft electrical and environmental technician, an air craftsman. And then I branched out and cross-trained into some other jobs like crew chief, but that was pretty much the mechanic of the air frame. Flight control systems, lighting, air conditioning, heating, pressurization, landing gear. Pretty much everything.

Q: Where were you stationed with the Air Force?

A: I was stationed in Altus, Oklahoma and then I got stationed for a year in Osan, South Korea. And then I went to Hurlburt Field, Florida, which is in Fort Walton, Beach. Then I went to Edwards Air Force Base, California. And I ended up retiring at Hurlburt Field.

Q: What are some of the skills you learned in the Air Force that have helped you at Genesee?

A: Definitely pneumatic skills. Also because I was an electrician, I understand a little bit of how the machines run.

Q: What packaging line do you work on?

A: I am primarily on VP (variety pack for Seagram’s Escapes) but there have been a couple of people out and I work on all of them.

Q: What are some of the lessons that you learned in the Air Force that translate over to your career at Genny?

A: Pretty much just knowledge and discipline. Sticking with it. If you have a problem on a machine, you just need to stick with it and make sure that you get it fixed and make sure that you get it fixed efficiently. Just like the Air Force, planes gotta fly and here in the brewery, time is money.

Q: What are some of the things you might have to fix on the packaging line or some of the tasks you might face?

A: Box-making equipment breaks down. Parts on the filler don’t work and you’ve gotta change those out. Conveyors. There are always rollers and rubber bands to change on conveyors or belts. It’s different every night."

Q: How were you introduced to the Genesee Brewery?

A: I just happened to come across the job on Indeed.

Q: What’s your favorite part about working at the brewery?

A: Honestly, just the challenge of it. It’s different every day. No job is the same. It’s always a challenge whatever day you go in.

Q: What advice would you give to someone hoping to work at Genny?

A: It is a job and it is challenging at times, but just keep an open mind and just go with it.

Q: What is your favorite Genny beer?

A: Oh my goodness, I like a lot of them. I would say I’m a Honey Brown guy.

Q: What makes you most proud about working at Genesee?

A: It’s a Rochester name and I love that I am a part of that now. I just take a lot of pride in my work, just like I did in the Air Force.

More about this partnership

Genny wants to hire you! By highlighting the wide variety of positions available at the brewery, the hope is that folks will see a college degree isn’t a necessity for a great career. Many of these union and trade positions come equipped with opportunity for learning and advancement.

Over the next three months, we’ll highlight some of the people behind the iconic beers in this space.

“We want to continue to attract people to union and skilled trades. There is a shortage of skilled workers, and the industry needs to attract more women and minorities. There are viable career opportunities for virtually anyone who wants to work in beer,” said Mary Beth Popp, vice president of communications, FIFCO USA. 

To learn more about working at the Genesee Brewery, go to: https://www.fifcousa.com/careers/