William Nebiolo is a sales engineer and product manager at REM Surface Engineering and is an active member in the NASF, where he has represented the Connecticut chapter as a national delegate and is 2010, 2014, and 2015 recipient of the NASF National Award of Merit. He has published and presented dozens of technical papers and is the author of the SME Mass Finishing Training Book.
How did you get your start in the finishing industry?
I started by accident. Coming out of graduate school in 1977, we were still suffering from the after-effects of the 1975-1976 recession, and there was hyperinflation during the Carter administration. I had studied waste treatment, and after 300+ job applications — and as many rejections — I was finally able to land a waste treatment system operators position at Union Hardware in Torrington, CT. I worked on the third shift. The company was a division of Brunswick Sporting Goods, and we manufactured Ni/Cr plated golf club shafts. I ran the Cr6+ reduction and heavy metals precipitation waste treatment system at night and also analyzed the cleaner baths, and did Hull Cells.
What do you enjoy best about the industry?
Bill and his collection of Lionel Trains.The camaraderie, whether it’s hobnobbing with members of the Connecticut Chapter of NASF at meetings, working with young engineers at my customers who are just learning the ins-and-outs of metal finishing, or participating at the NASF national level as a member of Technical Advisory Committee, or even setting-up and chairing the TAC presentations at the annual SUF/FIN conference technical sessions.
Is your glass half-full or half-empty?
It’s half full. I have had — and I’m still leading — a very fulfilling career and still plan to remain active as long as health allows me to do so.
What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?
The latest Vince Flynn novel; although others write for him since he passed away, I still enjoy the adventures of Mitch Rapp. A bottle of good single-malt scotch, with one ice cube, please. And Edna, my Boston Terrier.
What was your favorite subject in school?
Any of the sciences. Biology, calculus, physics, and especially chemistry. I always enjoyed chemistry.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
Escargot! In 1974 as a member of the University of Connecticut Marching Band, the band participated in a three-week tour of Europe. Nine countries in 21-days for $650! Imagine what that would cost now. In Lyon, France, I took the plunge and ordered a plate of escargot. After the first bite, I realized, “Wow, that is really good!” If they’re on a menu now, I’m going to order them.
Do you collect anything?
I’m a child of the 1950s, and I collect Lionel electric trains. Now I can afford the ones I wanted as a child, but my parents couldn’t afford them. Also, I collect U.S. coins. As a youngster in 1959, our neighbor Mr. Forsythe gave me an Indian Head penny. I was dumbfounded; “What was this?” Now, 63-years later, I’m working on completing my collection of U.S. 19th century silver pieces. Does anyone out there have a mint state 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar?
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Bill, center, as Connecticut Secretary chairing the Nov. 2006 Connecticut Chapter meeting where National President Joelie Zak was the speaker. At right, Brian Chenette of Gilbert & Jones, Chapter President 2006-2007.Extrovert totally. I love people. Meeting them and building friendships. I believe it’s one of the reasons I’ve been so successful in my sales career at REM. At the end of the day, if all things are equal, people buy from people.
Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?
I would have said smell or taste. But since my wife and I suffered through a bout of COVID-19 in April of 2020 — yes, it was terrible, and no, I don’t recommend it. But at least we both now have antibodies. I haven’t fully recovered either sense. About 35% of each, I’d say. So I would have to go with sight.
Are you related or distantly related to anyone famous?
From the old country near Turin, Italy: the late Primo Nebiolo. He served as the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations from 1981-1999. We are distant cousins on my father’s side.
What do you do to keep fit?
I’m a fanatic for daily workouts using exercise tubes. They’re light-weight and easy to pack in a carry-on bag when I travel, which I do a lot when there are no COVID travel restrictions.
Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?
“Whatever you do, do the best job you can.” At the end of the day, you’re judged by your peers, whether you realize it or not. You want to move on knowing that somebody has looked back and said, “Wow, that guy really did a great job.” My father was a Marine Corps Drill Instructor. He enlisted on Dec. 8, 194, one day after Pearl Harbor. He was stationed at Parris Island through 1943 as a drill instructor before shipping to Guadalcanal and participating in the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. So when I tell people my sister and I were raised by a Marine Corps drill instructor, well, we were. And that lesson of doing your best at any cost was driven into us from day one—no shirking on my watch.
If you were ruler of your own country, what would be the first law you would introduce?
Equitable wages and opportunities for women.
What three things do you think of the most each day?
Nebiolo GardensWhat do I need to do to keep my family safe, comfortable, and financially sound? What do I need to do to do my job to the best of my ability growing my customer base and my monthly sales? What can I learn today?
If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
I have a silly sense of self-effacing humor. It would say, “Et Mene Confusa, Et Pronus ad Vaga!” Which is Latin and translates to “Mentally Confused and Prone to Wandering!” My wife is the first to say I rate an A+ in that category.
What song would you say best sums you up?
Home by Phillip Phillips
What celebrity would you like to meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee?
Pete Fountain. The clarinet was my instrument when I was in the marching band. He’s the best.
What’s the most interesting thing you can see out of your office or kitchen window?
My wife and I have a walk-through garden 40 feet wide by 70 feet long filled with meandering brick pathways that separate perennial flower beds. There’s a grape arbor, rose trellises, park benches and birdhouses, and birdbaths. I meticulously maintain it, and it’s absolutely a perfect location for beautiful relaxation.
On a scale of 1-10, how funny would you say you are?
Oh, I’m at least a 9 out of 10 delivering a constant stream of moanable Dad jokes and silly stories. My most enjoyable stories are the silly self-effacing things that have happened to me throughout the years. I’m happy in my own skin and can laugh at myself; a lot.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
God-willing, doing what I’m doing now: having fun, selling, and helping customers. I love my job and what I do.
What was your first job?
At age 16, I was hired as a “stock boy” at the now-defunct W.T. Grants department store chain. We had a local store here in Southington, CT, and my job after school was to clean the bathrooms, sweep the floors, and stock the shelves. I made the princely sum of $1.60 per hour and worked 12-hours a week.
How many languages do you speak?
Bill his Boston Terrier, Edna.Just English. But I tease my customers from the South that while they speak to me in Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee, I’m listening in Connecticut. So it takes my brain a little while to do the translation!
Who is the most intelligent person you know?
Without a doubt, my metal finishing mentor: Bob Zobbi, president of HM Consulting in Connecticut. Bob shepherded me as a newbie in the world of metal finishing. All these many years later and now in his 80s, God bless him, he’s still with us, and I can still go to him with a chemistry question and still get the correct answer. He’s an organic chemistry savant and a true personal friend. This is the camaraderie I was referring to earlier.
If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?
A sheepdog. All these many years in metal finishing, I’m still leading the new metal finishing engineers through the same questions and helping to solve the same problems. It’s amazing. We lost an entire generation of metal finishing talent as much of the work was exported overseas. Now, as a lot of it is being reshored, the new engineers are 15-20 years into their careers and are learning the ins-and-outs of metal finishing that they should have learned decades ago. I feel that I’m the sheepdog leading that flock and getting them the correct information.
What is one thing you will never do again?
I’ll never be afraid again not to try something new. It took me a few years to learn not to be afraid to do something out of my comfort zone when I was younger. Sometimes, I wonder what I missed, or where things might have gone, had I taken some chances had I leaped through windows of opportunity that appeared for a short time many years ago.
Who knows you the best?
My work partners at REM Chemicals.
