The Inquiring Mind of Jeff Meiners

When it comes to exploring the ‘why’s’ that make the world go ’round, some people are content to swim in the shallow end. But that’s not where you’ll find Jeff Meiners, king of the deep dive.

Driven by a “need to know” mindset, in his free time you may find Jeff devouring the Wall Street Journal, immersed in a game of strategy, or surrounded by the parts of misbehaving machinery he has dismantled (a scene his wife has become accustomed to).

Take, for example, the problematic pressure-washer he encountered the other day.

“I just had to know why it wasn’t working. It became an obsession,“ says Jeff, who eventually triumphed over that particular tool. “For some people, there can be an aura of mystery with mechanical things. But if you know what you’re doing, it’s not rocket science.”

Jeff’s inquiring mind led him first into the field of Mechanical Engineering. He later went on to earn an MBA at Portland State University, after seriously considering law school. As Jeff candidly told his classmates on the first night of class: “Companies make some weird decisions, and I want to know why.”

“I decided to go the MBA route because I felt that business acumen and technical expertise would give me a greater ability to understand things,” he says. “To be able to evaluate a situation from both sides of that equation is very powerful.”

With a sharp mind and easygoing personality, Jeff quickly worked his way into leadership roles at a pump manufacturing company and a private equity firm focused on industrial repairs. There, he helped grow sales in the hydro turbine division from $3 million to $25 million in just over a year.

He joined Industrial Inspection & Analysis in early 2021, attracted by the company’s growth-oriented business model. But what sealed the deal for Jeff was the people he would work with at IIA.

“The people on the leadership team are very laid back and always willing to listen. ‘No’ is not a word in our vocabulary,” he says. “There’s no scolding for mistakes. It’s about learning and improving.”

As General Manager of Facility Services, Jeff has oversight for field inspections on equipment ranging from the Tilt-A-Whirl at the county fair to the rail cars that make their way through nearly every town.

“When they visit an amusement park, most people aren’t thinking about the guy who inspected the welds,” says Jeff. “But as an engineer, I think about that stuff all the time — every time I get on a roller coaster.”

True to form, Jeff relishes the opportunity to learn about the non-destructive inspection methods from those who use them every day.

“The people who work for me are the experts, and I learn something new from them every day. It’s a lot of fun,” says Jeff, who gets a kick out of some of the photos he receives from job sites. “Our inspectors will be working in these dark, dirty, cramped spaces, but they’ll have the biggest grin on their faces — they like what they do.”

“We work in the background, and it’s not very glamorous. But the work we do at IIA is extremely important,” says Jeff. “The inspections we perform can prevent something bad from happening.”

The inquiring mind of Jeff Meiners — and his persistence in problem-solving — will undoubtedly benefit IIA and its customers. As his career journey continues, he is proud to be part of a team that is serious about safety and committed to learning (and laughing).

“The people at IIA are awesome. They know their jobs and have a high degree of skill and integrity — and we laugh all the time,” says Jeff. “The more I’m here, the more I like it.”