What makes our company great? Our passionate, dedicated, and expert staff is cornerstone. Yes, we are an award-winning company with stellar products and service, but all of that would mean nothing without our team who makes it all happen.

As we celebrate our 40th anniversary building yurts and serving our community and customers around the world, we will be featuring some of our incredible staff members and the work that they do to make Pacific Yurts what it is.

We’d like to begin with someone who is part of the backbone of our company: Mr. Steve Tennison. Steve comes to us from a manufacturing background and has worked his way up through the ranks. He is now our Production Manager.

Teamwork & Crafting Quality Yurts Go Hand-in-Hand

Steve gets us started each morning on the right foot by arriving early to open buildings and make sure the equipment is up and running. He makes his rounds to check in with different departments, align schedules, go over spreadsheets, and ensure that all the moving parts of our company are ready to roll. A good portion of the rest of his day is spent meeting with vendors, reviewing pricing, and handling the purchasing and department paperwork.

While we are a growing company with individual departments, we are firm believers in cross-training. This ensures that employees in one department know how their work and the work of others all fit within an interdependent whole. Steve facilitates this learning by working with our crew members so they learn all aspects of how to build a yurt. For example, he’ll combine and oversee crew members as they work on batch production projects, where they manufacture, for example, 20-40 doors at a time. He also points out that the whole team communicates and works together, so that if one department needs a hand, others can jump in to help.

When you talk with Steve, one of the first things you are struck by is how genuine he is. It’s also immediately clear that he truly appreciates his coworkers. When asked what he enjoys most about his work he says it’s the times he gets to work side-by-side with the crew, talking and getting to know people. He adds, “I also enjoy working with everyone in different departments because it means there is a lot of input. It makes for a continuous learning process.”

Manufacturing Exceptional Yurts Starts & Ends with Our Experts

All of us at Pacific Yurts are proud of what we do, and Steve is no exception. He takes pride in the quality of the parts and the fact that he and the team do their own finishing, sanding, and staining. He is fully invested in making sure that time frame requirements are met without jeopardizing quality. He adds, “There are lots of quality checks.”

He’s also truly proud of the company’s responsible business practices. When asked about it, he mentions the company’s sourcing lumber from sustainable forest projects, the local purchase of materials, and our operating in as eco-friendly a way as possible. This means not wasting any materials! He details how leftover wood trimmings are kept on-site, makings it easy for anyone in the community to pick up and utilize for their needs. In addition, sawdust is taken to a local nursery and is perfect for supporting plant growth, deterring weeds, and much more. “And,” he adds, “It’s nice to be able to give back to the community alongside people who really value community.”

When asked if there was any part of the production process that readers might be surprised to know, Steve points out that some of our customers may not know we do almost everything ourselves, that jobs stay here, and that everything is made in America. He finishes with the point that everything that can be done in-house is completed on site by our own team.

Sharing the Story of Yurt Building

Building yurts for a living is not a common job description. When asked if he gets some unusual reactions from people who ask what he does, he laughs and says, “Yeah!” He says he’s had plenty of family and friends who didn’t know what a yurt even was – and he enjoys sharing his knowledge with them.

But he also says that he enjoys talking to new people who are familiar with yurts, many of whom know Pacific Yurts by reputation. He hears stories from people using yurts in creative ways, such as for businesses, craft rooms, or man caves.

If you are in the neighborhood, we would love for you to stop in and see our facility. And we highly recommend having a visit with Steve. It will make your day.