Chris Wellons

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Vice President of Manufacturing
Company Name
Taylor Guitars

Chris Wellons was playing percussion in grade school, and about the same time, he took an interest in wood working. He was hired as a cabinet builder while still in school and continued in the field until he was made aware of a job at Taylor Guitars in 1992. Chris was the 34th employee and was hired at a time when the company was producing about 15 guitars a day (at the time of his NAMM interview in 2019 the company was producing over 750 guitars a day). The company grew and expanded its factory and yet, Chris noticed the culture and family feeling that the founders initiated continued even while the employee count rose above 1,000. As production manager, Chris took a strong leadership role while remaining active in the day-to-day processes such as the planning and installation of the CNC machines, and the design of the workflow to manage the wood stock and supplies.