Work Perfect

The day we strive for 

Kristin Rudy

Petrochemical project manager
MetalTek International
Waukesha, Wis.

I am the petrochemical project manager at MetalTek International – Wisconsin Centrifugal Division. MetalTek International comprises 10 different divisions worldwide with centrifugal, sand and investment casting capabilities. My main job responsibilities are creating project timelines and tracking project progress throughout the foundry, machining and welding processes to ship a quality product on time.

As a Six Sigma black belt, I was given the opportunity to teach more than 70 green belts the DMAIC process and learn the facets of the investment casting process at another MetalTek division. I learned more detail about our facility through various projects such as material handling improvement and quality document system redesign.

I get the most satisfaction when we receive a rush job and the entire petrochemical product line comes together to make a quality, on-time delivery to a customer who could be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per day because of a nonfunctioning plant. Sharing the news that we have met the customer’s requirements on time gives me the most enjoyment. It takes an entire team of people, and I like being able to brag about the accomplishments of the team.

A typical day consists of daily updates on the status of jobs, updating customers, communicating with upper management about the goals of our group and project planning for new jobs. A perfect day would be a day when I can accomplish all the tasks that we planned at the beginning of the day.

After achieving my first post-graduate goal of earning my MBA, I would like to continue growing within MetalTek by first becoming a manager, and then who knows after that. I think that my education in industrial engineering and now business administration gives me a diverse background to help me accomplish all of my goals.

– Interview by David Brandt

David Brandt is the Web managing editor for IIE.