mechanical designer

pipe welder

service technician

mechanical technician

laborer

Innovative-Refrigeration-Systems

Bit of a background.. I've got over 10k hours of welding, fabricating and construction experience with over 10 different companies, and have never worked in an environment this disorganized and toxic.

Recruiting and HR are a mess. Constantly conflicting paperwork and guarantees that they can't possibly keep track of because the "90 DAY bootcamp" program changes so frequently, so they're constantly selling you on old inaccurate information. Their big sell is the 15% match, which doesn't start until a year after you complete the 90 DAY bootcamp program, and you aren't vested in until an additional 5 years after that. Benefits start at the end of bootcamp, but I didn't meet a single person on my first tour who had been in the bootcamp program longer than 4 weeks, and that was a single employee. 

They claim you "won't only be doing welding" which is understandable, it's not a union job and sometimes with other jobs you'll need to paint or help insulate or help move equipment and materials from A to B. What they don't tell you is that they're hiring you specifically to do manual labor(painting, wire wheeling, turning wrenches, lifting 40 foot sticks of 2" sch40 without mechanical assistance, digging up a busted septic line) to help them meet production demands at a decreased cost by avoiding paying benefits and overtime. You will be doing exactly zero welding in the 90 DAY bootcamp. This is after you come out of pocket from across the country to take a weld test and put yourself up in a hotel on your own dime and MAYBE get hired.

You work 10 consecutive days, two of which are travel days, with the pay period beginning and ending in the middle of that schedule. This means that the majority of your time in bootcamp, you'll be working 10 consecutive days with no overtime, which is exactly their goal. M-F are 10 hour days and Saturday and Sunday are 8. Your working days are Wednesday through Wednesday, so you'll get two 38 hour paychecks for a normal tour. You WILL be in a room with another worker, and you WILL only recieve $25 per diem.

They drive their recruiting team like slaves as well, so they'll reword and omit whatever they can to get you in the door to meet their recruitment goals, as their livelihood depends on it.

If you're having a hard time finding a job, and can afford to travel to Virginia on your own dime to only work a single tour for a small return to hold you over after they drag you through 8 hours of redundant, unpaid paperwork you have to fill out at home, and take 1-1.5 months to actually have you start working, I'll leave you to do the math and figure out your situation. If you want to work with a company that has their act together, don't bother pressing apply.✌


The workplace culture is unforgiving to say the least. Turnover rate is high for a reason. The company lacks the ability to give criticism in a constructive manner and employees rarely collaborate when they should. Individual departments of the company operate well, but the company does not operate well together. Lots of miscommunication issues and unmentioned expectations of employees as a result. Job roles are not clearly defined and workplace standards are limited. Positions that should exist do not, and resources are constrained in areas where they shouldn't be. Both the Safety and Quality department are touted pillars of the company but lack manpower necessary to be functional for the size of the company and operations. There isn't really a functional HR department for management roles. Almost every decision flows directly through the President and VP of Manufacturing. There isn't much of an organizational structure in place, especially when it comes to hierarchy of decision making, giving limited freedom to people who really want to make a change. The probationary training seems more of a method to weed individuals out as opposed to a tool to build skillsets etc. Learning outcomes were not communicated and training wasn't organized. Individuals in training are just thrown in areas where manpower is limited with no real objective. There always seems to be a looming threat of termination. Most employees are just waiting for something better to come along. There are some fun people who make the job more tolerable, but overall I would avoid working here. 

if you need a job that will pay you decently and you can deal with unnecessary stress, then this is the job for you.

I was hired as a Buyer (purchasing and logistics coordinator)  I received 4 hours of actual training where I shadowed someone one.  After lunch that same day, I was on my own and told to call for help when I needed it, which was all day everyday.  There is no real training method in this role and you are thrown right in to the fire and expected to meet the most ridiculous deadlines, with no real support and they look at you like you're doing something wrong.  You are expected to be just as good as someone who's been there for years which to be honest aren't many.   The turnover rate is the worst I've ever seen.  The manager in that department is a joke and can't train worth anything.  They claim to have no time to train you and you're just expected to get adjusted to the role.  The overtime is there if you want it but it's hard to want it when you can't even grasp the role and they expect you to stay at least 45-50 hrs a week.  I will never work for such a company again.  It's a very different work environment where everyone is cursing left and right, there is no professionalism there at all.  STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY.  I could type forever on how terrible this place was and I was only there for a month before I had enough.  During that time I watched 1 person quit who was only there a week and another person get fired within the same week while they were on vacation.

They are an at will employer so they can fire you whenever they want for no reason.  Pray you don't buy 1 screw too many at .95 cents instead of .50 cents.  



Terrible place to work, constant feeling of being fired for no reason. Upper management provides little support. No room for advancement. No actual engineering happening, plug everything into excel to see if it works. Draw on CAD for 9 hours and repeat. Extremely boring-unless you really want to be in refrigeration. They hire 6 engineers every month because 3 or 4 of them will leave in a couple of weeks. New faces every other week it seems like. You’ll sign a contract that says 45 hours but you’ll be working more without any additional compensation (salary position) They boast about a 15% 401k plan but you can’t contribute until you have been there for at least a year. Training is lousy- you’ll go through purchasing for two to four weeks, go to the shop to do the grunt work like pulling parts for welders, maybe do some weld inspections, or work in the shipping/receiving department (irrelevant to engineers). Then you’ll go to engineering and work under a engineering manager to work on various projects. Morale is low across the whole company, everyone looks like zombies going through the motions. The company isn’t innovative at all-“do it like this because that’s the way it’s always been done” mentality. They expect new engineers to be on the same level as a 3rd year engineer. 
Overall I would stay away at all costs. No room to grow or gain any actual engineering experience like in other industries. New engineers should NOT apply here, keep looking until something better comes along. 

I love working for Innovative, 
My Co-workers are fun to work with and have supported me and encouraged me the entire time.

My manager is awesome and respects me and what I can do for the company. Our accomplishments are always noted, and unlike many of my past managers he never brushes us off or ignores us.

The hiring process is smooth and they are constantly trying to improve it.

My only real complaints are related to benefits, In a post COVID Economy the PTO structure is extremely weak, and while the pay is decent it needs to improve with current wages being offered elsewhere.  The 401k match is impressive, but most of us cant afford to give up the max percentage a paycheck to really benefit from this.   

That being said, I love my job here at Innovative and I really believe this is a great Company who cares about its employees. Coming here was the best professional decision I have ever made in my life and really has helped me grow.


I got hired part time while going to trade school offered me a full time position after applying internally 3 months ago. Worked a few full time weeks to test things out for both myself and employer. Paired up with one of the most insufferable “senior “ techs. He was well informed and skilled in his position but a very rude individual. Seemed annoyed at just my very presence. The other apprentice that worked with us seemed to walk on eggshells around him constantly warning me of things he didn’t like. Multiple times called me a liar over trivial issues. Once asked why he picked a fight sent me off the job and I was let go 3 weeks later. 
I spent money on tools and other things for the job to be let go completely 3 days before my full start date. I understand if I wasn’t what they needed and could have took the hint but the lead me on thinking the job was secure. 
From the response of management it just shows me that this happens often and obviously have favoritism towards certain employees. 
I loved the work I loved the pay and benefits but the people I worked with ruined it for me.


Was trying to do the ammonia service tech apprentice program. Got accepted under the impression I would actually be learning how to work and solve problems on these ammonia systems. On website they have pictures of a facility you will never even go into. They got you doing grunt work for six months without learning anything new. Strict safety standards and will get written up for minor infractions. Lord forbid you’re a couple minutes late from your 30 minute lunch break. Has an expensive tool list that you won’t even need half the tools for your first six months. Was let go after two weeks for “not having proper skill set” yet never even had my knowledge tested on the topic I came for in the first place. Seems this place appreciates butt kissers more than someone who is competent and can think for themselves. 0/10 would recommend if you enjoy freedom because this place wants to own your whole essence and being. Would be an okay job if your single and have no roots. 

My life has improved dramatically since I parted with this company. Workplace culture is toxic. You definitely will learn a lot and take advantage of good pay and benefits. PTO amount needs to be improved. Turnover rate is outrageously high and causes permanent uneasiness in employees who are not fired. The threat of termination is constant. This company could improve if hours were reduced and training for engineers/management was strengthened. 

A warning to new hires: please do not take this job right out of college; find another stronger company that cultivates a better work/life balance and office culture. The company hires way too many engineers each summer due to the turnover rate in the hopes they can keep 4 or 5 by the following year. It's a vicious cycle that can be broken with fresh management foresight. The extra time it may take to find that better job is worth the wait. Good luck to you!

When I first got here I really did not know much about the engineering behind a refrigeration system. The Innovative team made sure that I had all of the tools and training I needed in order to become what I am today. I learned skills I did not even know I needed. The best part about Innovative is that they love when you are asking questions because that shows that you are interested in learning. The more you learn the more you can give back to the company by being a key part of the process. If I can call myself an engineer today it is because the Innovative team helped me get where I am today. All that being said, you have to help them help you and by this I mean that you have to be a self driven person who is willing to give its 200% every single day! This is not an easy job, but it is one that will help you achieve your professional goals.

If you are hard working and serious about your career, this is a fantastic company to work for. They have incredible career advancement opportunities with clear paths and training to help achieve your career goals. They really reward their hard working employees and they do not stand for laziness or sub standard work. This means you will be working with an elite team where everyone works hard, pulls their own weight, and constantly strives for greatness.
This is a very fast paced business so the work can sometimes be stressful, but my coworkers were fantastic and we helped each other to be successful. Even when times were stressful, it was still a very enjoyable working environment because of the talented and motivated people I was working with.
The work was very rewarding. There were always new challenges to tackle and with this company being on the forefront of innovation, I learnt new things every day.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mechanical designer 5 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
Pipe welder 1 salary reported	$35.00 per hour
Service technician 1 salary reported	$55,000 per year
Mechanical technician 1 salary reported	$27.50 per hour
Laborer 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour

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