Allison Krache Giddens is president of operations at Win-Tech, Inc., a precision aerospace machine shop specializing in the defense industry.
After a couple of years at a large corporation, Giddens believed her talents would be better used if she were a big fish in a small pond. Win-Tech was a small business and aerospace machine shop run by a family friend who needed someone organized to come in and help them manage some projects. The founder and owner of Win-Tech saw something in Giddens and told her: “If you trust me and take this job, I can see you owning this place one day.” Giddens left her comfortable role at a large firm and jumped into Win-Tech.
“The most important risk I took was leaving a large, comfortable corporate job more than 16 years ago to take a pay cut at a small business in an industry I knew nothing about — all for the chance to make something my own,” Giddens said. “I enjoyed my corporate job, but after learning that I could make a bigger impact in a smaller environment, I gravitated towards a new role at a small business — Win-Tech.”
For more than 14 years, Giddens learned all she could about manufacturing and small business. She earned a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in manufacturing leadership and received a certificate of finance from the University of Georgia. Giddens became engaged in local business networking organizations and workforce development efforts.
Eventually, she and her business partner, John Hudson, bought Win-Tech in October 2020.
“My vision for the company is to hone in on what we do well, and make that even better,” Giddens said. “There are many small businesses in the defense industry base being acquired by larger firms so that they can more easily accommodate the growing list of government mandates. It is my mission to keep Win-Tech true to its mission and still meet the needs of our partners.”
One of Giddens’ goals for the company is workforce development and identifying the next generation of talent. For years she has worked with local schools to urge parents, teachers and students to consider the manufacturing industry.
“In the years to come, those conversations must look differently than they have in the past,” Giddens said. “The next generation is not swayed by a few more dollars an hour — they want to know their impact will be meaningful. It will be my focus to showcase just that.”
