Page 65 - MetalForming October 2012

of the safety leadership team. As such, she played a vital role dur- ing the company’s recertification efforts with the MNSharp (Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition) program, supporting the firm’s director of employee safety Neng Yang.
“Serving on the safety leadership team and working on our recertification brought a lot of pride and joy in my work,” says DrePaul. “My colleagues respect me, and I respect them. We look to each other for advice, to make the workplace a better place for all of us. It’s an honor to work here and to be involved in the development of our safety culture.”
As he does with several other employees, company vice presi- dent and co-owner Erick Ajax sees a bright future for DrePaul, and she can’t wait for the opportunity to live up to his expectations.
“They (Erick Ajax and the rest of the management team) see something in me I had not seen in myself, until now,” says DrePaul. “I’ll continue to put my best out there, and wherever they want me to grow and develop, I’ll do it.”
At Oberg Industries, Freeport, PA, we met quality inspector Nancy Macurdy. “I came here wanting to learn and didn’t want a dead-end job,” she explains. “I went through the apprentice journeyworker training, and kept telling my boss that I wanted to learn more.
“Here, if you have the desire to learn and a positive work ethic,” Macurdy continues, “you can take the career path that you
want to. The pay is good, and Oberg has provided me with a good job and family balance.”
At GR Spring & Stamping, another western-Michigan stam- per, we spoke with Jennifer Robinson, management representa- tive-supplier quality, started at GRS&S in 1999 in the shipping department.
“From the beginning, I wanted to learn everything I could,” she says.
That willingness to learn propelled her to a shipping lead position. Interested in a posted quality position, Robinson was recommended for the job by her boss. The transfer to quality led her, through the company’s tuition-reimbursement program, to college courses where she is working toward a degree in quality engineering.
Responsible for more than 100 GRS&S suppliers, and also an ISO and TS representative, Robinson’s compensation has gone from hourly to salaried, which doubled her pay.
“If you have the desire and drive, there is always room to grow here,” she says. “There is openness here. You see the president and chairman of the company on the shop floor, which never hap- pened at my former employer. And we have meetings where man- agement explains where every dollar goes.
“And, there are no time clocks...are you kidding me?” Robinson exclaims. “That is a level of trust on behalf of the com- pany that I want to keep.”
waukee BizTimes Woman Business Executive of the Year, advises women in the workplace to stay committed to achieving their goals and look at their careers in the long term.
“Focus on the career trajectory of 40 years, not just 10 years,” Lione says, emphasizing that women who take temporary maternity leaves, or even
stop working completely to stay home and raise their children, should strive to “stay connected with employers, to ensure you maximize opportunities to have a successful career upon reenter- ing the workforce.” And employers should strive to stay connected to them to ensure they don’t lose the knowl- edge base and talent.
Lione knows all-too well the statis- tics cited earlier in this article—that women comprise only 25 to 30 per- cent of the manufacturing workforce. As such, she actively encourages women to closely evaluate their options when it comes to STEM careers (sci- ence, technology, engineering and mathematics).
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/October 2012 63