The Daily Times, June 29, 2008, Sunday

The Daily Times

June 29, 2008, Sunday

The Daily Times

ALCOA's 'bench strength': Summer Intern Conference returns to Tennessee Operations

By Robert Norris
of The Daily Times Staff

"What's going on over there?"

The green-shirted intern pointed to an apparatus used to test can sheet after it goes through the cold mill at the ALCOA Tennessee Operations North Plant.

"This machine measures gauge -- mechanical properties also. There's a sample in there now. It's a tensile test," the orange-shirted guide explained.

The 2008 Summer Intern Conference is about education for college students and about recruiting talent for ALCOA.

Safety is priority No. 1 when visiting the massive North Plant floor where huge ingots of aluminum are pounded and rolled. The bright colors of the T-shirts make it instantly clear who the interns are as they tour in hard hats, safety goggles, earplugs and steel-toed boots.

After the tour Brittany Newman, employer relations advocate for Tennessee Operations and organizer of the intern conference, is relieved. The 99 interns made it through the plant safe and sound.

"This is very stressful," she said.

"For some it's their first time in a plant environment, which is why safety is such a concern for me ... there's not enough of me to go around to make sure they're all safe."

She does have plenty of help. The ALCOA guides seem to enjoy telling the visitors about the equipment and their jobs.

And the guests are not exactly your average tourists. The name tags are a clue: Penn State, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida A M, Tennessee, and on and on.

Most are undergrads working for bachelor's degrees. The rest are studying for a master's, MBA or doctorate.

Mike Whitmore, who is majoring in finance and economics at Kent State University, is familiar with the ALCOA corporate culture. His dad works for the company at its Cleveland facility.

"Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I consider myself lucky, because I get to be at a manufacturing plant, so I actually get to go out on the floor.

"It's humbling. It makes you appreciate it, and you see a lot of history."

Return to the foothills

Tennessee Operations has had interns for several years. This is the second consecutive year it has hosted the company's conference where interns from ALCOA units across the country get together at the downtown Knoxville Marriott.

The four-day conference started Wednesday and ended Saturday with a trip to Cades Cove. The plant tour was Friday.

Thursday was crunch time with presentations from top ALCOA brass on subjects like "People, the Foundation of ALCOA's Value System," "What It Takes to Be a Leader," "Environment, Health and Safety," "ALCOA Opportunities and How One Unit Is Refocusing," and "ALCOA Business Systems."

Various ALCOA units select students based on need. The corporate center and business units, for example, focus on specialties such as finance and marketing. Tennessee wants engineers.

"We're looking for metallurgical engineers, electrical engineers and mechanical engineers as our bench strength," Newman said. "The reason for that is our engineers are so highly trained -- we consider them experts in their field -- and it takes a very long time to get someone up to speed."

Tennessee interns

Nadene Reid, a native of Jamaica who is studying industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, breaks that mold. She's interning at Tennessee Ops for on-the-job training in her major.

"My school is based on labor relations. If you can work with the (United) Steelworkers, you can do just about anything. I've been working on grievances, hiring, interviewing. I'm seeing the whole spectrum from you're coming into the plant to you're going out of the plant. I'm loving it," Reid said.

Jordan Watley, majoring in mechanical engineering at North Carolina A T, interned here last year and is back again. He's been working the hot line at the South Plant.

"It's a great role. I'm just trying to contribute," he said.

As to his preference, he gives a nod to the North Plant: "More machinery operated. Less hands-on labor."

Khalil Thomas has a mechanical engineering degree and is studying for his MBA at Georgia Tech. He's also interning at the South Plant.

"Everybody I've worked with is great. My boss (James Spurlock) is like the greatest dude I've ever met. I've really enjoyed my time here," he said.

"I work in the Green Mill where they make the anodes. It's like a coal mine, really."

Jose Lius Velasquez, another Tennessee Ops intern, is a native of Nicaragua studying industrial systems engineering at Georgia Tech.

"I've been working with ABS (Alcoa Business Systems) in the South Plant. I've been working under Pam Hathcock. She's definitely taught me a lot; she's a really good mentor. I'd like to give a shout-out to Ms. Hathcock right now."

Consider it done.

Originally published: June 29. 2008 3:01AM
Last modified: June 28. 2008 11:08PM