More than Recycling
Ryan
Experience Information
Employer: Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Co.
Job Title: Engineering Intern
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Padnos is a family owned company that is an employer of over 500 individuals at more than 20 locations that spread from Traverse City down to in Indiana. The company is the biggest recycler of many materials including all types of metals, plastics, paper, and many other commodities in Michigan. Even though Padnos has both a large amount of employees and locations it still has a small family owned company feel. This is because each department in the company is treated as its own "business" which operates under its own manager which answers to the owners of the company. The departments are each small groups ranging from 3 to over 10 people which each have to operate well with each other in order to make the company run smoothly. This is a very different but good operation, and defiantly contributes to the diversity of the company.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
The tasks I was required to complete during the semester I worked at Padnos were very diverse and unique from each other. This was because the engineering department is only 4 full time engineers with 1 co-op student. They service all of the locations with recycling equipment on site. This means there is a lot of work and modification that need to be created by the department as well as new innovative processes and machines that also need to be designed. I had a lot of responsibilities in larger projects such as a new plastic recycling line was being put in I was required to take charge of designing and overseen the fabrication of multiple components of the system including conveyors and pneumatic sorting fingers. I also did many small tasks called "continuous improvements" that are ideas submitted by operators of machinery or other employees that give ideas of how to make a process more efficient, safer, or just maintenance that needs to be completed. These ranged from adding operating platforms to making safety bars to hold up a machine component when maintenance was being completed. I had many unique tasks that each brought their own challenges because every one had to do with a different process and had different requirements because of it.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I gained a lot of skills throughout my experience, some of which I'm sure I did not even realize. I first learned a massive amount about the recycling industry and actually how the recycled materials are processed. This was actually very eye-opening to how recycled commodities are actually dealt with. I also learned a lot of soft skills in dealing with people and problems. I had to be able to communicate with the fabrications employees, the supervisors of the machine shop, the employees that purchased components I needed for projects, and even executives of the company that would make visits to the departments and have questions about processes and solutions. I also had to be skilled in getting unique components order by outside suppliers. I did gain a lot of problem-solving skills also, because when you are designing components for machines that were custom build or have a very unique failure a solution must be found as that is a job requirement of the engineers. I also learned project management as I had to oversee the design, fabrication, and installation of my projects and was held responsible for them.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of the co-op was the uniqueness of every day, the industry itself, and all of the individuals that made the company run. I truly did just enjoy going to work and working as hard as I could because that was the type of environment I found in the company. I enjoyed the challenge to push myself every day and learn as much as I can about things that I have prior knowledge about, or have no knowledge whatsoever.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has influenced my career goals by pushing me harder to succeed in the field of mechanical engineering. It was very enjoyable and gave me and even greater passion for the career. It gave me a taste of what is possible at the end of my schooling which will drive me to push even harder to succeed.