Manufacturing’s image: The engaging logic of the entire process

Pat Hopkins, 30, has manufacturing in his blood; his father has spent decades as a machinist in the tool and die business. But this didn’t mean Hopkins was immune to manufacturing’s image problem. He recalls visiting his father on the shop floor. It wasn’t entirely dark and dreary, but it wasn’t bright and clean either.

“I do have fond memories of seeing my dad and his coworkers,” Hopkins said. “But to me it looked like a dirty job. He worked 10-hour days, and I have to be honest: I didn’t think it was something I wanted to do.”

What a difference a dozen years makes. Today Hopkins is project manager at OMCO, a custom roll former based in Wickliffe, Ohio. He serves on the Young Professionals’ Council for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, and he’s become an advocate of youth in manufacturing.

How did the change of heart happen? He got a taste of a world that few people outside this business really know about when they think of manufacturing: the front office. In high school he interned where his father worked—not on the shop floor but instead in the sales and estimating department.

“[My dad] wanted me to get a view of the entire manufacturing business,” he said. “I was responsible for cold calling, getting new leads, talking to steel suppliers, and estimating new jobs.”

That wide-angle view sparked his interest, particularly when he saw how his father interacted with everyone in the plant: the engineers, sales and estimating, plant managers, and others. The job wasn’t just standing by a machine, programming, and pushing buttons. It was about managing a process, improving it, and ensuring all the moving parts of the job delivered customer satisfaction.

Today, as project manager at OMCO, Hopkins job is all about managing those moving parts, and he couldn’t be happier. He’s had mentors, experts in both roll forming and estimating, and he’s absorbed their knowledge like a sponge. He uses that knowledge to manage projects and juggle myriad variables to get the job done right.

He finds roll forming technology fascinating, including the fact that even in this modern manufacturing age, it’s still in many respects a black art. But what really drives him is the engaging logic of the entire process, from the initial order to the final shipment. It’s what makes him excited to get to work every morning. And that’s something he feels plenty of young people could get excited about too.