Guardian to say farewell to Wally Palma

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June 8, 2007

Anonymous The Corsicana Daily Sun Fri Jun 08, 2007, 09:00 AM CDT

Some 400 people from around the world will gather in Corsicana this weekend to commemorate the retirement of Wally Palma, manager of the Corsicana Guardian Industries glass manufacturing plant for the past 27 years.

Palma, who joined Guardian during construction of its first float glass plant in Carleton, Mich., has been with Guardian for more than 37 years.

In addition, attendees this weekend will honor George Longo, who will follow Palma as plant manager of the Corsicana facility, which employs about 325 people.

“It has been an honor to serve not only our employees, but the Corsicana community in general in my years at Guardian,” Palma said. “Our philosophy has always been to give back to those who have given so much to us.”

Colleagues from Mexico, Thailand, Canada and from across the United States will gather this weekend to recognize Palma’s accomplishments and his contributions to the community.

“Wally is an icon within Guardian,” Longo said. “I can only hope to continue the success in the business world that Wally has established.”

Longo, who helped open the Corsicana facility in the early 1980s, has taken over daily operations of the plant, which manufactures more than 500 tons of glass per day.

Mark Palma, Wally Palma’s oldest son, is the cold end manager of the plant’s float glass line.

Mark Palma, who graduated with an engineering degree from General Motors Institute in Michigan, said he followed his father into the industry because he was “intrigued” by the business his father has been successful in.

“My dad has established a pattern of work ethics that I have come to value greatly,” Mark said.

“One of the things that makes Wally so special,” Mark said referring to his dad by name, “is that he empowers his people, he trusts them to do their jobs and he expects them to get results.

“He is very loyal to his employees and goes out of his way to form as many relationships as possible with them. We will miss that.”

Wally Palma, also a graduate of GMI, now known as Kettering University, is a native of the Detroit area and has recently built a home on Richland-Chambers Reservoir.

Palma and his sons are developing a hunting ranch in Freestone County, where they hope to spend much of their time. Wally plans to continue traveling to Michigan to consult for Guardian and to care for his mother, Janette, who resides in the Detroit area.

Joining Mark Palma and others celebrating Palma’s retirement are Mark’s two brothers, Matthew, 33, also an engineer, and Kevin, 28, a business analyst with a master’s degree from Harvard.

The Corsicana facility recently underwent a repair of its float glass line at a cost of $51 million, which will enable it to manufacture high-quality float glass for at least another 15 to 20 years before the next repair.

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Guardian to say farewell to Wally Palma

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