Andy Karel, hot melt equipment manager for the northern region atValco Melton不知道他在肯塔基州小型文艺学院学习金融时，他会在包装和加工行业中享有职业生涯。但在与热熔设备制造商连接后，卡雷斯已经看到业界必须提供的价值和机会 - 特别是对于年轻世代而言。这是他超越了监督国际公司热熔融资的工作职责的一个原因，该公司在90个国家拥有超过500个国家的员工，加入PMMI未来的劳动力委员会。
What does your day-to-day look like normally, and how has that changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?
通常,我的职位要求我旅行60%70% of the time. I typically travel three days during the week. A lot of times I will attend an installation going on or I will travel out for sales meetings. When I am in the office, I interact with all of our different departments. So that way I can have conversations when I’m out in the field about things that are going on within our facility. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed how we conduct day-to-day business just like everyone else in the packaging/processing industry. Customers have limited visits and travel of their corporate personnel, and as a result, we are only making visits to customers who consider us as an essential or critical visitor. The majority of meetings/installations have been canceled and those are difficult to reschedule given the uncertainty surrounding the direction of the pandemic. Valco Melton has taken several steps to both answer demand while keeping our employees safe. I have been working out of my home office and many others are as well to minimize the number of employees who are working out of the corporate office at one time. We now have two production shifts to limit the number of workers on the production floor at one time. Valco has also expanded our Zoom capability as we have seen an increase in the number of video meetings since the outbreak. Our customers are busier now than they’ve ever been, so it is important that Valco Melton is able to meet their needs while also keeping employees and their families safe.
你公司的时间是什么样的？您是否有任何促销活动或有机会学习业务的不同方面？
我会说这一直不断变化和不断发展。当我第一次开始时，我的培训全年，其中包括在西班牙潘普洛纳的欧洲总部的一个月。我之后我进入了我目前的角色，但有一个学习曲线。我非常了解 - 不仅仅是关于我们公司和解决方案，而是整个行业。这需要两到三年的时间来对我的角色所做的事情感到舒服。随着公司继续在国内外的新机遇继续发展，总是有明确的道路和计划前进。我感谢基于公司办公室，这让我有机会与所有部门互动，同时继续了解我们业务的各个方面。
How does your company support you as an emerging leader?
Valco Melton以多种方式支持我作为新兴领导者。他们所做的第一件事之一是让我参与PMMI，我目前是未来劳动力委员会的成员。这使我能够与在业内拥有多年经验的同事联系。我能够接受这种知识和经验，并将新的视角或想法带回我的公司。角色和职称变化和增加的责任也帮助我成为Valco内的领导者。
What has your experience been like in PMMI’s Future Workforce Committee?
We recently decided to rename the committee because really the focus is building a future workforce within the packaging and processing industries. We’re working with schools and always wondering how we can provide resources to PMMI members, like information on how to start an internship program so that kids can be introduced to the industry. So, once these kids graduate, they would consider coming into the workforce because they know that there’s good job opportunities for them at an entry-level and room for them to grow.
What is the most fascinating part of your job?
我的工作中最迷人的部分是旅行到所有不同的制造工厂，并从工厂到工厂和公司的技术差异。此外，能够看到不同的产品如何使我们作为消费者，我们日常生活中的使用将永远对我感到迷人。在我进入这个行业之前，我从未想过的事情。我可以通过将田间的想法和建议返回我们的公司办公室来帮助我的公司创新。通过弥合客户与工程之间的差距，Valco Melton能够根据其需求开发产品和解决方案。
你对这个行业有什么兴趣？
The complexity and the opportunities really surprised me about the packaging and processing industries. Valco Melton is just one small part of a packaging line. I always enjoy walking a line from the start to the finish and trying to understand how it all comes together. One of the responses I get when I tell people what I do is, “Guess there’s an industry for everything.” Packaging and processing is something that not a lot of people think or know about, but there are so many opportunities regardless of your background. Most companies have sales, service, engineering, accounting, etc., with great entry-level positions and opportunities to move up.
作为一个新兴的领导者，你职业生涯中面临的一些障碍，你是如何克服它们的？
Valco Melton and the packaging and processing industries require some level of technical ability. I grew up barely turning a wrench before I started my career at Valco. This was a huge obstacle for me and something I had to learn quickly on the job. Fortunately, Valco Melton and PMMI offered training and the tools to be successful in acquiring technical knowledge and learning new skills. I never thought I would be able to navigate myself around a PLC cabinet or through an electrical schematic.
您对其他新兴领导人和退伍军人有关参与其中的建议？
I know this industry is not the glamorous job someone may be looking for, but that doesn’t mean that it is not the right or best job out there for you. There are so many opportunities to work your way into this industry and with an aging workforce, there is a clear path for you to move forward. I never thought I would find myself in this industry but couldn’t be happier that I did.
As a rising star in your organization, what is next for you? What are some goals you have?
我一直想在国际上工作，所以我的目标是在国内继续在这里继续在这里长大，并随着我们继续在国外发展而获得更多涉及的。
For more information on PMMI’s Emerging Leaders Network,访问：oemgo.to/emergingleaders
