What is your role and how long have you worked at KFI?

My current role within KFI is Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator (EHS). This September will be 2 years in that position. I have worked here for 22 years in December, starting off on the production floor in an entry level position and continually learned more to advance to an operator then lead operator and trainer then continuous improvement coordinator to my current role as EHS Coordinator!

What sparked your interest in joining the manufacturing industry?

When I graduated high school, I started to pursue a business management degree through MATC. I decided that wasn’t the right path for me. Being young and not knowing what I wanted, I went with a job in manufacturing, which I knew would be a stable choice. I had already worked for several years in retail and wanted something else. Manufacturing was a good fit because I enjoy working my hands along with working with a variety of people and different processes.

What’s your favorite thing about working at KFI?

The people! I would say KFI is my family. We have a great knowledge base and many different backgrounds. I like the ability to talk to everyone on every level regardless of title. We have great teams of people that work well together.

Do you have a project that you’ve recently worked on that you feel proud of?

There have been many different projects that I have had the opportunity to be a part of over the course of my career here at KFI. I was a trainer for many years. I would say being the trainer and watching people grow and learn is something I feel very proud of. Knowing that I was able to teach them and help the company grow by sharing knowledge with others. To see some of the techniques or methods that I was involved in over the 20 years are still in place today is a great feeling.

How do you prioritize sustainability and optimize efficiency in everyday production?

I always challenge people to think, “Is there a better way” and “Think safe, be safe”. By thinking safe, you are always looking for improvements. This inspires a culture of continuous learning, therefore optimizing efficiency. Thinking safe will help to avoid accidents which allows the team to work without issues and interruption.

Sustainability is a huge focus. Here at KFI, we use plastic which is 100 % recyclable. All scrap is recycled and re-used to make new or different products. This allows us to optimize our operations and save our customers money, along with ensuring the least amount of plastic is ending up in our landfills.

What is your role and how long have you worked at KFI?

I started with the company in January 2016.  My current role is Operations Manager at Kruger Family Industries.  In operations, we constantly drive for improvement in safety, quality, and productivity.  Our productivity goals include improving OEE, reducing scrap, and eliminating unplanned downtime on the extruders and formers.

What sparked your interest in joining the manufacturing industry?

During my college years, I had the opportunity to participate in an engineering co-op program with a large chemical company. This set my course for a career in manufacturing. Upon graduation from engineering school, I took my first role with a paper and plastics converting company.

What’s your favorite thing about working at KFI?

KFI has a very strong team. That’s my favorite thing- working with a very talented group of co-workers.

Do you have a project that you’ve recently worked on that you feel proud of?

Yes, two projects.  Last year, we had to learn how to extrude and form ABS, which was a challenge since HDPE is our primary base resin. The other project was the work we are doing on the large CAPEX project installing the new extrusion line at Kruger Family Industries. Currently we have 75 % of the machinery on-sight and are installing the new equipment. Once installation is complete, we move to start, de-bug, and training or our team on daily operations of the new machines.

How do you prioritize sustainability and optimize efficiency in everyday production?

Kruger Family Industries recycles all purchased resin back into our extrusion process. Efficiency is always a focus as we monitor scrap coming back into the process daily.

What is your role and how long have you worked at KFI?

My name is Tanya Jacobs and I’m a Senior Design Engineer. I have worked at Trienda for 7 years.

What sparked your interest in becoming a design engineer?

I grew up on a farm and watched my dad make/fix a lot of things around the farm out of “junk” he had laying around. Like my dad, I always liked to figure out how things worked and how to make them work better.

What’s your favorite thing about working at KFI?

I like the people I work with. They are friendly and willing to help each other in order to get the job done. I also really like my job in engineering designing thermoformed parts, but my friends and co-workers at KFI are really what makes it enjoyable.

Do you have a project that you’ve recently worked on that you feel proud of?

I recently finished a sample of a full pack set for a steering gear. I designed the tray, pallet, and cover for the steering gear product. It was a tricky design because the steering gear has a shaft with a large gasket sticking out of it and the shaft needed to point vertically in the tray. One of the reasons people like this design is because you can get another full layer of parts in the pack by using the custom pallet and cover with the tray.

As a woman in the engineering field, what are some of the ways you feel women impact the field in positive ways.

This is a hard question for me to answer, because I haven’t really thought of myself as being different than any other engineer just because I’m a woman. There is no doubt that there are not a lot of women who pursue engineering, but I think if someone is interested in math, science, and engineering they should be encouraged to pursue it, regardless of who they are. I think everyone has different experiences in life, and those experiences can give you a different perspective on things. In engineering, it can be beneficial to have multiple people looking at/working on a project, because each person can bring their own unique ideas to the table.