Folks,
I became an engineer because I like building things, specifically, physical products. In my work at EastBridge, I have the privilege to influence and guide the development and manufacturing of countless new cool products. I have the best job in the world, at least for me!
When I was a senior process engineer (a very generous title for a recent grad with three years of work experience) at Honeywell Small Computer Systems Division, I went off on my first business trip (and very first airplane ride) to Madison, WI. I visited Nicolet Corporation to trial their X-ray imaging microscope. A transformative experience that was the start of an almost countless number of supplier visits.
I did a rough calculation of the number of factories that I’ve visited since then, and over the course of my career, it’s somewhere north of 3,000… If you include my EB colleagues, we’ve visited close to 10,000 suppliers.
So much of the know-how that we bring to our work emerges from these visits. When we walk around a factory, we all learn so much. We see machines and processes that we never knew existed, observe novel methods of combining materials, industrial processes, and workflows. Then EastBridge uses that learning to make world class components, subassemblies and finished products.
And some of the best discoveries come from observations that aren’t relevant to the current project. The vendor walks you past an unrelated process line, you make a mental note, and three years later, you know exactly where to turn.
Beyond first level manufacturing, being in the mix allows us to build an ecosystem of upstream materials suppliers and downstream service professionals. Examples of this include knowing where to find the best high-end packaging subcontractors, which acrylic adhesive bonds molded EVA foam to anodized aluminum, and the laboratory in Vietnam that can perform UL testing and certification at a fair price.
Nowadays, so much engineering and product development takes place remotely, at a great distance and on the computer screen. Designing new products in a hermetically sealed bubble has become the norm. Technology can only take you so far when you’re manufacturing physical products.
Every time we step onto the shop floor, we learn something new. I encourage you to make the effort, take a trip and get into a factory.
Cheers,
Jack Daniels, 617-285-2486