Manufacturing sees a bright future

“People with the manufacturing engineering skill set are in demand.” Mark Tomlinson, SME

Expected growth areas include alternative energy, aerospace and defense, medical device manufacturing and more

By Claire Swedberg
Contributing Editor

Despite a hard economic year for industries that employ manufacturing engineers, the future still looks quite bright for engineering employment. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers website (www.SME.org), for example, has some 1,800 jobs posted.

That, says Mark Tomlinson, SME executive director and general manager, illustrates the attractiveness of engineers with this expertise. “People with the manufacturing engineering skill set are in demand.”

President Obama, Tomlinson notes, has stated that “investing in science, research and technology” are paths to financial recovery. And congressional leader Nancy Pelosi has said in an interview that if you want “four words to describe the economic recovery package, it’s science, science, science and science: the science, technology and engineering to keep us competitive in the future.”

Where will the demand be? The alternative energy sector is one likely place. “There are a lot of startup companies with great ideas and no practical idea of how to make them happen,” Tomlinson says with a smile. Industrial, manufacturing and mechanical engineers are clearly needed there! He also sees aerospace and defense and medical device manufacturing as growth industries in the next few years.

Keep competitive
To stay competitive, Tomlinson urges MEs to continually educate themselves and upgrade their skills. Joining SME, taking courses and programs and hooking into technical community networks are good ways to do that.

An understanding of lean principles, Tomlinson adds, will be a skill greatly in demand across multiple industries. Engineers with lean certification are going to be needed to help companies reach their lean objectives.

In the meantime, manufacturing engineers in a multitude of industries continue to do their work of keeping the products coming.

Wil James is an SVP at Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Indiana
Wil James, SVP of manufacturing and quality at Toyota Motor Manufacturing
of Indiana, Inc (TMMI), earned his 1978 BSME at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA).

His big interest was thermodynamics, and after graduation he went to Babcock & Wilcox Co, the boiler and power generation equipment manufacturer, as a field service engineer for the Texas and Louisiana region.

In 1980 he moved to Fiber Industries (Charlotte, NC), a Celanese Corp subsidiary. He worked as a project engineer on design and installation of systems for fiber development and manufacturing.

A year later Olin Corp (Lake Charles, LA) recruited James as a project engineer. Now he
would be working with the production of industrial chemicals. “This was a completely different industry,” he says. “This was a heavy-duty chemical environment, and if we didn’t follow the right procedures there could be a truly detrimental effect.”

Needless to say he paid even closer attention to detail and accuracy in that job. He has continued that practice throughout his career.

In 1987 James moved to Toyota. He had heard a lot about the company and the way it respected its employees and promoted teamwork, and he was intrigued. “I told them my interest was in supervisory work and fortunately they were able to provide a fit,” he says.

James started as a group leader, running the mechanical maintenance group at the company’s Georgetown, KY plant. “I got a chance to see if Toyota was serious about its work environment and I was pleased to see it was truly walking the talk.”

The company has been a perfect fit for him. “I strongly believe that if you give people an environment with a level playing field where they can be comfortable and challenged, they
can be successful,” he says.

In 2003 James became VP of manufacturing, one of two VPs overseeing two manufacturing lines and more than 7,000 employees. When the other VP moved to a different position, “I
took responsibility for all vehicle manufacturing and production control,” James says. In retrospect, “That was absolutely the right thing to do. It allowed the entire operation to have one focal point.”

In 2006 Toyota sent James as SVP to its Long Beach, CA plant which provides parts and components for several Toyota vehicles. He was soon promoted to president, in part to help with diversity issues as the plant went through a large staff and production volume increase. When James arrived, there were native speakers of twenty-seven different languages working there. “It was the most diverse place I have every worked” he says.

But the plant was not taking advantage of that diversity. “There were extremely talented people from many different cultures but they hadn’t been exposed to the idea of an open playing field,” James says. He set up a system of communication within the plant so it was understood that everyone had a chance to advance. “I feel the plant is working extremely
well now,” he says.

At the beginning of 2009 James became SVP of manufacturing and quality at Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Indiana, with the special task of helping the company respond to changes in the automotive market. He intends to continue to “bring support for the idea of a level playing field, improving communications and creativity and clarifying the vision for the direction of the plant,” he says.

“Toyota isn’t going to waste this recession,” James declares. He intends to focus on creative solutions and basic concepts to make TMMI stronger as sales begin growing again. “Engineering is about the ingenuity of people, not just technology and equipment.”

Keith Jones, Toyota’s manager of diversity, is in complete agreement. “We strongly believe that today’s as well as tomorrow’s workplace must be one that allows people of different ages, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic groups, abilities and cultural backgrounds to reach their
full potential.”

The company also spends more than a billion dollars a year with minority business enterprises.

Ulises Vargas: manufacturing engineer group leader
at Rolls-Royce Ulises Vargas did not begin with an aerospace background, but he was definitely headed for a manufacturing career. As a kid in Mexico, “I always liked making useful objects out of raw materials. I liked adding value, making something that would be useful for society,” he says.

He earned his 2002 BS in manufacturing engineering at the University of Texas Pan-American (Edinburg, TX), and his 2006 MBA at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN).

In college he interned with TRW Safety Systems in Mexico and did two internships with Ford Motor Co in Michigan and Ohio.

After graduation Vargas found a job as an associate manufacturing engineer at Rolls-Royce Corp (Indianapolis, IN), the jet engine and component manufacturer. He progressed to manufacturing engineer specialist, senior manufacturing engineer and manufacturing engineering group leader working on jet engine components manufacturing.

He began on the shop floor, supporting machining processes and quality issues in combustion systems for commercial jet engine components. Later he was sent to Houston, TX to refurbish compression packages powered by gas turbines. Back in Indianapolis he worked on turbine wheels. He was promoted to group leader in 2007.

Today Vargas leads manufacturing engineering efforts to get machines tooled up, in place and ready for the manufacturing processes that make possible the production of jet engine components.

It’s an exciting job, he says. “I have the opportunity to work with the manufacturing aspects
of many of the different components of the engine.

“I believe my attitude has helped me succeed,” Vargas declares. “A positive attitude toward
the job, the eagerness to learn and to take on challenges and the willingness to work in a team environment go a long way. When you show enthusiasm and willingness to make things work people want to be a part of it.”

Vargas says there’s a lot more to manufacturing engineering than the technical skills taught in school. “You have to sell your ideas, work effectively with others and inspire others with your vision. If you don’t have good communication skills you might go through life unnoticed.”

Working at Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce is working to break the traditional roles of gender, ethnic group and nationality. Rolls-Royce employees work in the aerospace, marine and energy markets in many different countries and cultures, and a strong recognition of the values of diversity enhances the company’s business and helps it grow for the future, according to spokespeople in its HR department.

Rolls-Royce works with SWE, NSBE and SHPE, participating in conferences and sponsoring its employees as members of the organizations. The company is also part of community outreach programs like the UNCF and the Urban League, and recruits at minority-serving universities, among others.

Miranda Oaks: hardware engineer at Lexmark International
Miranda Oaks, a hardware engineer at printing and imaging solutions provider Lexmark International, Inc (Lexington, KY), graduated from the University of Denver (Denver, CO) in 2004 with a BSME. One college summer she interned at an architectural firm where she gained valuable 3D design experience, and her senior design project involved working with a team to design and build a four-person bicycle for the ASME’s human-powered vehicle contest.

“Not only did I have the opportunity to build hard skills like manufacturing, material selection, welding, drafting and project management, but I also learned a lot about effective communication and being a team player.”

After gradation she joined Lexmark as a hardware engineer working on fusers, which are used to heat the toner for color laser printers. “I knew I wanted to work for a global, Fortune 500 company. The decision came down to the people,” she says. The sheer size of the company was also a plus: Lexmark has close to 14,000 employees worldwide, and the potential for travel appealed to Oaks.

In 2006 Oaks transferred to Lexmark’s laser technology development group as ceramic heater lead. Now she was responsible for functional evaluation of toner candidates, and supported fuser manufacturing in Asia.

Today Oaks is a technology team lead for design of the fuser used with monochrome toner; she’s also the primary interface with Lexmark’s fuser R&D team in the Philippines. Oaks is the one responsible for delivering a fuser that meets all required specs, and that involves coordinating activities of team members in the U.S. and the Philippines.

She also develops test plans, completes risk assessments, reviews reports and performs functional testing. “And I’m responsible for delivering ceramic heaters to all the belt fuser products,” she notes.

Belt fuser technology is critical for sustainability, Oaks explains. It requires less energy to power and less time for the printer to warm up.

She also investigates future technologies, resolves current production issues, tracks deliveries around the world, heads up functional testing, defines specs for engineering drawings and evaluates manufacturability.

But, just as she expected when she joined Lexmark, her favorite part of the work is the travel. “During my trips to China, Japan and the Philippines I’ve visited factories and R&D sites. This exposure and experience has made me a better design engineer,” she says. “You never know who you might be working with or where you might be headed some day.

“What you learn in engineering school gives you the foundation to solve problems. But in the workplace there is often no single ‘right’ answer. It’s really all about the application of the principles you learned in school.”

Workplace diversity is part of Lexmark’s strength and why the company is committed to employing people with a wealth of backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints, says Jeri Isbell, HR VP. The company has created a diversity council to help create a workplace environment where all employees feel respected and included and have an opportunity to fully use their talents.

ME Kirsten Shilkitus: development engineering at DuPont
Kirsten Shilkitus is a development engineer for the DuPont mechanical system design and development group, part of the company’s corporate engineering organization.

Shilkitus completed her BSME at the University of Delaware in 2003. While
still in school she had the chance to work for the U.S. Army Research Lab in Aberdeen, MD, designing an application for equipment to identify biological warfare components in water. This also served as her senior project, she notes.

“That was the first time I designed something and built it, fabricated a prototype and tested it,” she says. While still a senior she was hired by DuPont as a reliability engineer, located first in its main Richmond, VA location and then at the DuPont Tyvek facility in the Spruance section
of Richmond. She was responsible for evaluating the health of equipment used at each plant.

“I did a lot of work with their vibration analysis blowers and pumps,” she recalls. She worked with a mentor on multiple projects, including one that involved transferring polymer material and climbing up the side of a silo every day.

The environment was almost all male and most folks were considerably older than she was, “But everyone was pretty friendly and I had a good experience there,” she says. “I came
away understanding just how intense the operations environment can be.”

In 2006 she moved into development as a development engineer in the Wilmington, DE corporate office. Now she’s designing electromechanical equipment to be used for manufacturing and research: systems for plant sites located around the U.S.

The needs of each facility are different, she says. “There are so many technologies you can learn about.” In each case she comes to a new plant ready to learn about the plant operators’ concerns. “Since we’re outsiders at the plant I come with a focus on communication,” she notes. Her own experience at the Spruance plant helps her understand “the sense of urgency the plant engineers are often under.”

She enjoys the work. “You have to have a passion,” she says. “It’s not just fixing problems but having a fundamental understanding of what’s wrong in the first place.” That information comes through good communication with plant operators.

“I try to understand them at a personal level; as a friend rather than a consultant. That’s really helped me get to know my customers,” she says. “The work is exciting and I’m having lots of fun with it.”

Carrie E. Brown: production engineer at Chevron Phillips Chemical
Drilling Specialties Co, a division of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, manufactures drilling muds and other products that are used in the exploration and production segment of the energy industry. Carrie E. Brown is a production engineer at the company’s Alamo Plant (Conroe, TX). She earned her 2006 BSME at Iowa State University.

“Initially I wanted to enter the field of biomedical engineering. But most colleges don’t offer that as an undergraduate field of study, so I thought ME was a logical choice,” she says.

On graduation she found a job as a project engineer at Chevron Phillips Chemical. She managed the scoping, design, budgeting, approval, engineering and implementation of a variety of drilling-related projects.

“I also had the chance to try a construction engineering role, addressing construction issues
on project work in the field,” she says.

She was promoted to production engineer for the Drilling Specialties Co, responsible for supporting daily plant ops, helping diagnose and resolve plant reliability issues, working on small projects and changes in the facility and developing written procedures and work practices for safe operation of the plant.

Brown finds her communication skills very useful. “My family moved around quite a bit while I was growing up, and every time we moved I had to interact with different people and different cultures. I definitely carried that forward into my past and present jobs.

“I also think initiative and the ability to multitask have been a big help to me. There are times when a lot needs to be done with limited resources.”

Working for Chevron Phillips Chemical has been a learning experience, Brown says. “I know now that it’s acceptable to not have all the answers; even to say, ‘I don’t know.’

“Not knowing something right now doesn’t mean you never will. I’ve got a whole life of learning ahead of me, and I look forward to it every day!” Brown concludes.

“Diversity in the workforce has become a competitive advantage for Chevron Phillips Chemical,” says Virginia Hubbard, global manager of diversity and inclusion. “If our clients and products are diverse, then we as a company must also be diverse in order to not just survive, but to thrive.”

D/C

Claire Swedberg is a freelance writer who lives in La Conner, WA.

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