Cost and Concept Development Co-Op at JR Automation Technologies LLC
Jonathan
Experience Information
Employer: JR Automation
Job Title: Concept and Cost Development
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
JR Automation is a custom machine building company headquartered in the greater Holland, MI area. The primary goal is to serve customers by building high quality and state of the art manufacturing equipment. There are roughly 500 employees between the 6 nearly 7 locations. These locations are located in Holland ( Tyler St., Quality Dr., New Holland, Holland Ave.), Stevensville (Dane Systems), and in South Carolina. Each location operates as a separate business unit but trade key personnel on an as needed basis. JR Automation was recently sold by JC Huizinga to a venture capital company out of New York called Crestview Partners. This will give the company the ability to expand and build bigger and even better machines.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
I was a Concept and Cost Development Intern for the summer in which I worked with several engineers of various knowledge bases to design concepts with CAD and cost the concept accordingly. The job not only entails critical thought and thinking outside the box in literally every situation but also developed my thought for legal business practice. Writing a quotation is extremely difficult and demands covering all of ones bases so that when something comes up down the road, the company isn't out thousands of dollars. Not only was I required to write these quotes, but also act as a salesman of the product I was designing a concept for as well. No one will buy what you are designing, if you can't stand behind it and back up what you were thinking. On several occasions I held and led meetings with department heads, business unit managers, VP of sales, and even the CEO at one point.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I have learned so much this past 4 months. I have learned about induction heating, actuators, servos, guarding, robots, cycle times, legal technical writing, non-disclosure agreements, organization styles, how email is your best friend and worst enemy, bowl feeders and escapements, how to concept in CAD, how to hold and guide a meeting, how to set-up and run a conference call, how to organize a commercial budget, how to ask questions, and how to be wrong. The last two are very important by far. There is so much that I have gained from the last few months. I think the greatest knowledge that I have gained is that people see my potential.
Favorite Part of the Experience
The best part of my internship at JR this past summer could not be narrowed down to just one experience. On several occasions, I found my self-dying laughing with my coworkers and enjoying myself with a great community of people. Joking in the office was a norm. Hanging out outside of work was just as fun too. Just this past week, JR held their annual work picnic at 5/3 Ballpark. It was so much fun. I was able to see millions of dollars of custom equipment that is custom and state of the art. On one particular day, myself and several others were able to watch a fairly large cell complete a dry run. This cell had 2 large Fanuc robots, RTV dispenser, UV Cure, and several other things. Even though none of those individual processes are proprietary, the end product is, which makes it that much cooler.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
After working at JR for the summer, I definitely know that this is the field for me. A degree in Mechanical Engineering is not easy to complete, and neither is working in the field once school has been finished. I never thought that people would be watching me daily. I have received several compliments from various coworkers that are seeing me progress and like my ideas and abilities. I cannot wait to work at JR as a full-fledged mechanical engineer. I couldn't imagine it any other way.