Mark Hurst joins High Tech Industrial Representives Inc.

Mark Hurst and and his wife,Teresa.

Mark Hurst started his first job at a machine shop after graduating from Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School. Even though he was originally hired as the shop janitor, it didn’t take long for the machine shop owner to recognize Mark’s quick learning curve and his desire to create something from nothing.

About one year after his hire date, Mark was sent by the company to Mazak programming training in Schaumburg, Illinois to learn how to program the company’s newest vertical milling machines. In fact, some of Mark’s machine work has made it to the racetrack. These parts were used in top competing teams of the NHRA, NASCAR, and other regional drag racing series.

As Mark worked his way up the ranks in the machine shop, he often found himself advising and working with many of the seasoned veteran machinists. This was in order to complete machining operations in an accurate, timely manner. As time went on, and new owners purchased the machine shop, they couldn’t help but notice Mark’s natural ability for machining and leadership. He was promoted to shop supervisor and was in charge of overseeing two shifts and 22 machinists, fabricators, and welders.

Eventually, Mark moved on to work for a construction and forestry accessory manufacturer, which specialized in building stationary-to-rotary motion devices, which transferred electrical power, pneumatic power, or hydraulic power via precisely engineered and assembled components.  Mark started at the bottom of the totem pole at his new employer, but within 18 months, his skills and mindset stood out among the 120+ other employees. He was hand-picked by the management to oversee the assembly and testing of products in the hydraulics department. 

Mark’s one true hobby is motorsports! He formally raced jet skis at the local level in northeast Iowa for four years. He is a former nostalgia top fuel dragster driver, and has exceeded 200 mph several times with a top speed of 217 mph! Mark is also a former go kart racer that has raced at 33 tracks in nine states, and has won two regional championships (2007,2008), and one national championship (2007).

Mark has been married to Teresa since February of 2007. They now spend most of their summer weekends at the local dirt track, as a pit crew and spectators. For downtime, they enjoy roadtrips on their Victory motorcycle baggers and look forward to trips around the country.

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