Leaving his parents and a sibling back in Mexico, Jose Martinez came to the United States at age 15, accompanied by one of his brothers. Together they had to find a place to live, get an education, learn to speak English, and find employment. But the hardest part for Jose was something that doesn't faze most Midwesterners. 

"I don't like to drive in the snow", he said. "And I don't like to get up early in the morning when it's too cold."

Ironically, Martinez, now 30, works as an M.I. Cable Assembly Technician, making the Delta-Therm cables that melt the white stuff he hates. He celebrates 10 years with the company this fall. 

Standing at a table with a vice, he splices the cables together using a liquid epoxy to create cold ends. Hundreds of feet of cable pass through his hands each week, and although the job can be overwhelming at times, he is successful by approaching the work one custom order at a time.

"Of course, quantity is very important, but we go by quality so we take our time and try to send the best cable, the best of our work," he said.

Wearing jeans and a Delta-Therm T-shirt, Martinez is usually listening to oldies on the radio while assembling cables with another technician under the supervision of Tom Rentner, Delta-Therm's warehouse supervisor. 

"He's very thorough at what he does and I wish I had four more like him," said Rentner. "It would make my job a lot easier."

At the time of the interview for this article, Martinez was assembling nine cables for Corpus Christi Church. The cables will be installed in the church's gutters to melt snow and ice. 

"For this order, there is 130 or 140 feet of cable," he said. "Sometimes the orders are 200 or more feet so it takes more time."

When he first joined Delta-Therm, Martinez made floor warming cables and mats. After three years working in that capacity, he was moved to the M.I. cable assembly area where he has to exercise extreme caution.

"The first year, I used to burn myself a lot," he recalled, adding that the soldering and splicing of the cable involves the use of a torch. 

One of the greatest challenges for him is filling an order when there's not enough cable in stock. The waiting period can be difficult. 

"I get a little worried because I want that cable right away so we can start working on that order," he said.

Martinez was born in Veracruz. While he enjoyed his childhood there, he is content here in the States where he earned his G.E.D. and now speaks English fluently, in part due to the Delta-Therm staff.

"Working here at Delta-Therm has helped me a lot to practice my English." he said. "You have to use it and practice it. I speak Spanish with my family."

Martinez currently lives in Round Lake with his wife, Annah, who he married in November, 2008. He and Annah are expecting their first child this July and already have names picked out. 

"If she's a girl, her name is going to be Isabella and if it's a boy, it will be Ethan," he said.

In his spare time, Martinez plays the keyboard in a Spanish band that performs for weddings and anniversaries. 

"I sing a little bit, too," he said. "It's just for fun, but we get paid."

Before joining Delta-Therm, Martinez spent four years painting the rims of semi-truck tires and stocking them using a fork lift. It was a labor-intensive job he doesn't miss. 

By comparison, working as one of Delta-Therm's cable assembly technicians is not bad. "Once you put the cable on the table and start working with it, it's easy," he said. "And I feel like the cable we have here is high quality."