Zac Guy – Class of 2001

Zac Guy graduated from NC State in 2001 with a degree in Paper Science & Engineering.  We reached out to Zac to find about his current career, and advice for current students.  Thanks for your time and sharing all your wisdom Zac!

Experiences while at NC State:

•  Internship/co-op experience: Champion International Paper Company, Summer 1997, International Paper Company, Summer 1998,  Blue Ridge Paper Company, Summer 1999 & 2000,   Co-op Fall 2000
• Other Positions/COmpany Experience: I started after college as a manufacturing engineer at Mead Paper. While there I was promoted shift supervisor and then again to Machiine Superentendant.  My second role was as a Quality Engineer for Baxter Healthcare and was promoted to Engineering Team leader responsible for FDA compliance and machine design and validations.  I then became Head of manufacturing for the worlds largest producer of magnesium sulfate where I was responsible for seven plants, 800 employees and full P&L for a 150 Million annual budget.  In 2005 I left to pursue my growing reclaimed wood business in Appalachian Antique Hardwoods which is where I have been for the past 14 years.
• Favorite Class: Dr. David Ashcraft-Professional Development  & Dr. Hasaan Jameel-All of them
• Best Memory at State: There were many. I think the people are my best memories more than the events. Little did we know that we all were setting the foundation for how to work as teams, conquer that which we didn’t think we could, and depend on each other’s individual performance for the success of the group.
• Worst Memory at State: We had the idea of attempting to pulp chicken feathers in the paper machine lab. Dr. Byrd acquires white feathers from one of his black market resources who failed to remove the muscle tissue before shipping them to us. Raleigh gets hot in September and by the end of the week you could not bear to be within a quarter mile of Biltmore. That smell stayed around for months and to this day I try and avoid eating chicken as a result. It was a miserable failure but has made for a wonderful memory.
• Favorite part of PSE Program: We knew we were the elite at the time. We knew we were part of the highest starting salary major at NCSU. That gave me the confidence to stay the course. School wasn’t easy for me with the load I had between work and education but I had a great group of caring professors and friends that encouraged me. I am thankful for each of them!
• Most important thing PSE taught me: It taught me that it isn’t about me. Your role with a PSE degree (or any degree) is to empower those around you to do their very best within their field of endeavor. You do that by servant leadership, consistent top tier performance, openly and quickly admitting when you have made a mistake, and recom
• mitting yourself daily to being a winner even if your losing the game.
• Clubs/Hobbies: I was the President of Tappi, active in the Baptist student union, and intramural sports when I was on campus. I hunted as much as I possibly could and managed my startup company from my dorm room, and later from my townhouse at Walnut Ridge.

Current Career Information:

• Company/job position: I currently own five compaies and serve as the President of all five.
• What month and/or year did you take on this role: I formed Appalachian Antique Hardwoods my Junior year of high school in 1995. Today it remains my main investment and is considered the worlds largest reclaimed wood company. Guy Holdings Inc. came along in 2012 to manage corporate assets and be a strategic investment firm. TWP Group and TWP Logistics were formed in 2013 and 2014 respectively to help vertically integrate our supply chain and real estate holdings. Guy Brothers Farms was founded in 2011 and today is one of the largest registered beef cattle operations on the East Coast.
• What other positions have you had, and/or worked at any other companies: I started after college as a manufacturing engineer at Mead Paper. While there I was promoted shift supervisor and then again to Machiine Superentendant.  My second role was as a Quality Engineer for Baxter Healthcare and was promoted to Engineering Team leader responsible for FDA compliance and machine design and validations. I then became Head of manufacturing for the worlds largest producer of magnesium sulfate where I was responsible for seven plants, 800 employees and full P&L for a 150 Million annual budget.  In 2005 I left to pursue my growing reclaimed wood business in Appalachian Antique Hardwoods which is where I have been for the past 14 years
• What is your favorite part of your current job: I impact people. I lead. I follow. My job is to accomplish my goals by empowering my employees to succeeed at their jobs. I only employ all-stars. You must be a proactive professional team player to work with me. Together we win. Individually we fail.
• What is your biggest accomplishment in your career: I taught three of my employees to read, paid for several to go to college.  I paid  for surgeries, cancer treatments, and trips to do mission work. I bought cars for guys who rode bicycles and I’ve cooked meals for people who had nothing to eat. I couldn’t have done these things or impacted these people without the blessing of a good job which came from a good education and a strong will to succeed.

Advise for Current Students

• Realize that earning your college degree is not the end, it’s the beginning. Having a college degree is a springboard to a career. A career should not be looked at as a key to success, it supports success. Success is not defined as the size of your bank account. It is defined as the size of the smile on your face each and every day.  Don’t bottleneck yourself into thinking life is all about your degree or your job. Both are life tools that you will learn to utilize and capitalize on in order to support happiness in your life.

Personal Information

• Hometown: Waynesville NC
• Family: I somehow convinced the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life to marry me in 2001 and we have three sons, Tucker, Walker, and Parker. We are a very close knit family who live on an equestrianfarm in the community where my wife and I both grew up surrounded by our families.
• Hobbies/interests: My sons and I team rope a lot throughout the year. We travel the country competing in rodeos. I also study Krav Maga combat science extensively and have enjoyed growing in that sport. Any time I can, I enjoy collecting my thoughts while sitting on a tractor seat.

Any Other Comments to Share

• A college degree doesn’t make you what it says on your diploma. It simply says that you had the fortitude to rise to the challenge and that you are capable of learning and thinking independently. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Learn to recognize what is truly important in your journey and what is small stuff. Focus on the truly important and don’t sweat the small stuff. Leave the little things for the Carolina graduates to attend to who will be working for you one day. We are the Wolfpack. We lead. We empower. We rule the woods. Always challenge yourself to think and do the extraordinary!!