Kenny Fyhr Jr. is a team member in the Information Services Department. In a business that rarely stops running, he works as a Technology Architect to ensure Logan Aluminum’s systems and servers are always working and available. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Kenny moved to Logan County after his father, Ken Fyhr Sr., was recruited as a Special Projects Engineer in 1985.
Introduced to Logan at an early age, Kenny said that it was impossible for the culture to not impact his personal life. Logan in the 1980s was a much smaller group and his parents developed a friendship with many other team members. Kenny grew up with other Logan kids and joined the summer program when he graduated high school. Unlike our current internship program, this summer program was only available to children of Logan team members and roles were more related to backfilling for the operating teams to give them an opportunity to take a vacation. Kenny worked in the program for three summers, in a variety of roles, including managing the pup coiler, and doing CAD drawings, in Finishing. It was in his fourth summer in the program that he completed an internship with the IS Department where Kenny found his career path.
Although the program didn’t guarantee a full-time position with Logan Aluminum, it provided a beneficial segway for Kenny after he completed his Bachelor’s in Computer Information Technology from Western Kentucky University. In 2007, he was hired at Logan as a member of the help desk where he worked two years before transitioning into his current role.
“Coming out of a help desk role into a position where I was responsible for managing and maintaining systems has led to a challenging, frustrating, rewarding, and fulfilling career,” Kenny said. “Logan has provided me with a great job in an industry that’s stable and recession-proof. I come to work every day, knowing I work with friends! There are other opportunities out there, but none quite like this.”
Hired in at 25-years-old, Kenny said that he was the youngest team member in the department for five years. In his 15 years at Logan, he has watched the department grow from 20 team members to almost 40. In his role as a Technology Architect, he manages all the servers and systems that Logan computers connect to, on the backend. Whether it’s the applications that run on the mill floor, or the file shares that everyone saves their data to, Kenny manages everything through a platform called VMware. Managing VMware ensures that all of Logans systems and servers continue running 24/7. This also backs up Logan’s data to an off-site location where, it something were to happen at the plant, we would still be able to keep the plant running.
“Kenny is a loyal and dedicated team member who plays a critical “behind the scenes” role in keeping Logan’s virtual storage environment running smoothly”, said IS Unit Manager, Chad Hardison. “As a legacy family member, Kenny embodies the spirit of teamwork that has made Logan what we are today.”
Kenny and his wife, Besty, live in Bowling Green with their daughter Makenna, and their son, Benett. He enjoys spending time with family and attending his kid’s soccer games.
