UCC Summer Co-op Experience
Nick
Experience Information
Employer: Uniform Color Company
Job Title: Project Engineer Co-op
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Uniform Color Company is a part of the Audia group along with Washington Penn Plastics and Southern Polymer. Basically, UCC makes a high quality color master-batch for the thermoplastics industry. Customers will purchase the master-batch to make plastics that have certain characteristics or properties (color, UV resistant, etc.). The master-batch is shipped mainly in pellet form which is made by an extrusion process. UCC is also making a move into the liquid color master-batch market. Uniform Color has roughly 500 employees. Headquarters is in Holland, MI and UCC also has locations in Slovakia, Georgia and Mexico.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
As a project engineer co-op I was given a wide variety of tasks. Some small projects include pellet limiting plates for the classifiers, strand separating fingers, and a light diffusion tester. With these small projects I was involved in the sourcing of materials as well as building the final products. Some larger projects I was involved in were the design of the dosing station for the new Georgia plant, the redesign of two extrusion set-ups to accommodate multiple feeders, and the redesign of the existing packaging line at UCC. For large scale projects, I was assigned specifically to making CAD drawings using either Solidworks or AutoCad.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Through my co-op, I gained organization skills as well as technical communication skills. I was part of a very talented group of engineers who showed me to not overlook any detail, to double check everything, and to keep open lines of communication with all parties involved in the current project. I also was able to observe strategies in project management. Being involved in large scale projects and seeing how a successful project is run was very beneficial to my career development.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of my co-op experience was being trusted to have a hand in so many different projects. I was kept very busy with a variety of tasks which widened my knowledge in many different areas rather than just a few. I am now much more confident in my technical abilities because of the diversity of tasks I was given. I also enjoyed being able to work with my hands. I was taught metal working skills such as plasma cutting and welding which I am very excited about. Seeing something that I designed come to life (no matter how small) was a very rewarding experience.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Because of my co-op, I now have a much better understanding of what engineers do on a daily basis. Being surrounded by skilled professionals has inspired me to strive to be more successful in my professional career.