GMi Companies

Process Engineer Intern

May - August 2023 • Lebanon, OH

What I liked

I like the freedom I am given when completing projects. I have now spent three rotations with GMI and I have learned how to take charge of many projects at once. Having the freedom to switch between projects as I saw fit allowed me to effectively make improvements in many different aspects of the company. I could be working on the 3D modeling process, or getting a new product set up for production. Whatever I decided I wanted to work on, I was able to.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been able to work on more hands-on projects. I very much enjoyed the work I was doing, but I was in the process engineering department. I worked much closer with products that have already been engineered. The focus of my work often surrounded the exact processes we use to manufacture. I got to do some testing when switching glue brands, but working in a product development environment would involve more research and physical analysis.

Advice

Don't get discouraged if you feel that your projects are moving slowly. When you are brand new to the job, it can be hard to complete projects when you lack the knowledge to effectively communicate what you want to do. Just keep working and trying to be productive. If you hit a road block, just ask question until you have a path forward. Your coworkers are often your most important resource so don't be scared to lean on them heavily when you are first starting out.

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Production operations intern

July - August 2023 • Lebanon, OH

What I liked

The work environment and the safety measures taken. I also like the work environment and the high-end machineries they are using for all their process. They have a pretty cool environment where everyone is trying to help you or teach you or learn from you.

What I wish was different

They should have a production supervisor to supervise all the employees this will help them decrease the number of employees and at the same time increase efficiency. They should have a daily schedule meet for all the departments in order to complete all the given task on time and without confusion. Their inventory should be managed properly. The dead stock should be taken care of in order to avoid companies losses ( either should be reused or should be returned or scrapped)

Advice

As an intern, I would like them to give us more workload so that we can learn more things. They should have a program in which the intern will basically go and work with every department for at least 10 days and gain as much as knowledge he or she can (mainly only applicable for a Mechanical or ENM grad student)

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Product Development/Solidworks Intern

January - May 2022 • Lebanon, OH

What I liked

I really love the sense of community that GMi has built around the entire company. It is quite clear that there is a great effort made by management to retain employees for a long time, from big scale things like solid communication and events for employees to the little details like occasional candy bars and celebratory theme days. Another aspect that has been extremely beneficial for me and my development has been the sense of collaboration and patience among the team I work with in product development. Being my first Co-op opportunity, I didn't have as much experience as I would have liked going in; however my team was very understanding and patient with me as I learned more and got better at my job. This extended well beyond my direct team as well; everyone I met has been kind and always has a smile and ready to help in any way possible. GMi also helped me confirm that I want to go into product development/R&D, as I was interested in not only the design and testing, but also a lot of the other processes as well. Overall, my first term at GMi Companies was very positive and a phenomenal learning experience.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have done a second term in the summer; however the timing didn't quite work out that way, which is understandable. It's still a shame because I think that more time would have allowed more growth and familiarity with the company than the more split approach. I also wish I had gotten a bit more of a look at beginning stages of big projects versus working mainly on final details and touches. However, this is again a result of timing; the big trade show GMi goes to is in the beginning of June, so typically the first part of the year is working on the new products that are going to the show. Understandably this is the main focus, so newer future projects are put off a little bit. I would still love to see that process of deciding what new products to go forward with and seeing more heavy design work however, and hopefully in my next term I get a little bit more of that experience.

Advice

GMi is a great place for anyone of any experience level to go and be successful. Even if you don't have as much experience, as long as you are willing to put in the work and effort and listen to suggestions and tips that people are giving you, you will learn a lot and have a good experience. And if you do have experience, they are more than able you use you properly and get you more advanced projects and tasks. Good advice for anywhere you go is just to go into a job/co-op/internship with a positive attitude and try to learn as much as possible. Lastly, the product development group at GMI is a fun group to be around, so once you're settled in and comfortable, don't be afraid to joke around and have some fun! Just don't let Scott and Ryan get you too off topic, it's quite easy for them to do.

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