On the East Coast, specifically in northern Virginia, United States, Elena Morrissette spent part of her life with her family in a rural area. After moving to pursue her university studies at Iowa State University, she has lived in different states and experienced various lifestyles in the United States. Today, “part of my family still lives on the East Coast, my sister in Iowa, and my brother in Florida.”
As a process engineer at the Duluth Plant, she mentions that she studied mechanical engineering and then established very good friendships in Minnesota, where she got a job in the construction sector: “I was a design engineer for them, so I was in charge of construction and then of the design for fire suppression.”
It was in that context that she met her current husband. After some time together, they decided to stay in Minnesota: “I grew up in a very rural area, so moving to a big city was a new experience. And I discovered I didn’t like it, so we decided to move here to Duluth.” They got married in 2023. Elena was looking for work a little closer to her new home. That’s when the opportunity to work for ME Elecmetal arose.
In her role as a process engineer in Duluth, Elena has been working for just over a year in the maintenance and engineering department. Her work involves intensive management of “major maintenance projects,” and at the time of the interview, she was working on repairing a crane. “It’s not just about improving processes, but also redesigning some, working with the operations team and supervisors to ensure the steps we want to implement are effective,” explains Morrissette.
She illustrates her point with the purchase of equipment for the plant, with features different from those previously used. This change involved dialogue with operators to understand the main issues and make adjustments. Through active listening with them and the engineers in the area, certain changes were made in the foundry. In fact, four months have already passed since this implementation and “I can say that the new equipment has been a success and people are handling it properly. We have received very good feedback regarding the modification.”
“Since I was in university, I noticed that only between 5 and 11% of the students were women, (…) more women should participate in the STEM world (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). I believe that men’s and women’s ways of thinking can be different, but when facing a big project, it is very valuable to have both perspectives, as each has different viewpoints on the same situation.”
“The weather in Duluth is very cold, but the people here are very kind. At first, it was somewhat challenging because I didn’t have much knowledge about foundries, but the team has taken the time to teach me the processes,” explains Morrissette.
Among the aspects she highlights about the company, she mentions the following:
- Knowledge: “I learn something new every day, whether about the machinery, its details, or requirements.” Also, the fact that the company has operations worldwide reinforces its global approach: “I haven’t had the pleasure of working yet with other plants in other countries, but I know other engineers collaborate with China, which I find fascinating, as it also generates a knowledge exchange process.”
- Safety: “We have safety meetings, review procedures, and everyone is very aware of safety-related issues.”
- Values: “It’s very refreshing to see a company like this, with defined values that are put into practice.”
- Diversity: “I like working with people from different backgrounds and learning from their contexts, because everyone has different stories and brings different elements to the work.”
Elena mentions that she has had previous experiences in other companies, and that with the pandemic, the construction sector where she initially worked slowed down considerably. This made her change her focus and come to the maintenance area at ME Elecmetal: “Since I started working at ME, I really love it, even if it sounds a bit cliché. The people here are amazing, the work really challenges me, and the benefits are very good too. So I see myself here at ME long-term, maybe even until retirement.”
