Chris Harrington did not plan on building a career in cold storage.

When he first walked into a United States Cold Storage facility in Tulare County in 2003, he didn’t think of it as the start of anything significant. He was simply being introduced to an industry he knew little about.

On a Central Valley morning, Kayla Robinson might begin her day walking the grounds of a concrete plant, checking equipment and site conditions, talking with managers about permits or inspections. Later, she may be back in her Fresno office reviewing regulatory updates or preparing compliance reports.

George Cummings did not grow up imagining himself inside a machine shop. He grew up in Coarsegold, California, a small mountain town about 15 minutes south of Yosemite. For years, his world revolved around restaurants and college coursework — not steel, calipers, or CNC machines. “I work at PNM Co., and I am a machinist,” he said now, almost casually, as if it were always the obvious destination.