production

operator

cleaner

Voith Group

I very much enjoyed my colleagues and my boss in the US. They are all great and very forward thinking group, but the German colleagues were an entirely different story. I originally started out developing training content for our group in the US, but was transferred to an all German team about a year after I started and it went downhill from there. The German group I worked for consisted of a washed up engineer who's grasp of technology was anything they saw on Star Trek and a recent college grad who was more concerned about networking then understanding anything about adult learning methodology or practices. I was the only one who knew anything about training, instructional design, or adult learning. I had designed and developed the entire training program for the US, called the Levels of Learning, that was then adopted globally, which would seem cool, however my "colleagues" in Germany had other plans. Upon adopting my training model, along with all of the training content I developed for internal and external customers,, and the LMS system I implemented, they decided I only "assisted" the real team members, who were all German. I was the only person developing content for entire division; they didnt. I actually had set up partnership with a university to develop content with but the Germans were not interested. They were only interested in do interested webinars, that are only offered in Germany and China. While the rest of the world has adopted to more on-demand training solutions that are engaging and informative, they wanted to stick work PowerPoint training via  3 or 4 hour webinar. My German boss said he struggled to involve me saying that he thought I assisted the others, who again, didnt develop anything, I did. Then they decided I was no longer necessary and cut my position, essentially stealing all the credit for my work, my training concepts, and LMS. They advertise all of my work on their website as their own, but I was the one who developed it the first month I started 5 years ago. My US boss tried to save my position, but in the end, the Germans won.

Keep in mind i'm looking at this from my position, as I hear in different departments, it's MUCH more of a team and cohesive effort from all.

My typical day at work consists of the same things, as far as what is expected of me.  That aspect of the job is fantastic.  It's nice knowing what to expect before you come into work; However, as with any job, things can and do "break" at a moments' notice.  That's when management should step in to help out, but it's hard when they don't necessarily know how to do their subordinates jobs, like they should.  Management can be fair at times, but most of the time unfair.  I was hired to do a certain job, not be pulled into do jobs and tasks that aren't part of my role; Why?  Just because i'm a "warm body" and others might get offended if I'm leaving after my work is done and they have to stay since it's part of the 6 or 12 month close?  

The workplace culture is good.  Voith treats you, for the most part, decent.  The pay is average to above average(which can be both beneficial or hurtful depending on if you are looking for another job and are priced out of the market because they start you so high). 

Hardest part of the job is having your job titled one way, and being told that more is expected of you since you are, for example, an "Analyst", but in the same breath, treated like a lower level employee. 

Most enjoyable part of the job?  Going home.

Designs, fabricates, joins and/or repairs space age metals, scientific and research components using oxygen-acetylene, electric arc, MIG and TIG welding techniques.
 
Welds in controlled atmospheres, plasma welds and cuts.
 
Welds high vacuum and high pressure systems.
 
Heat treats and thermosprays equipment, fixtures and various types of metal objects and structures.
 
Operates drill presses, power saws, grinders, positioners and a variety of welding equipment and hand tools. May also perform minor operations on metal lathes and milling machines.
 
Analyzes plans, drawings, work samples, specifications and work orders to determine work requirements, sequence of welding assignments, and personnel needs. Works closely with researchers in the design and adaptation of research components.
 
Estimates material and labor needs on jobs.
 
Manages welding supply and material needs.
 
Coordinates activities of employees in the welding area.
 
Performs basic non-destructive inspection techniques.


The overall benefit package is great. The insurance coverage is very good.  Training is very under the expected levels if you need to know what your job is supposed to be.  Management allows others to get away with whatever they want to do by not holding anyone accountable for anything.  Supervisors and office workers are often in meetings, so when you actually need something from them, they are either unavailable or "working" from home, which is often a total waste of time.  The opportunity for advancement is nonexistent. If you are interested in moving up in the company and you try to better yourself, HR will just end up blocking your chances because they want to keep you where they need you. They would rather hire off the street than promote from within. The only advice is not to apply to this company. You will end up leaving in a short period of time. Just turn around. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Job security, the union was too weak to ever go on strike. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The more you do, and the better you are at your job, the more they make you do.  While those who aren't very good get to skate on through doing very little but get paid the same. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It's very stressful and the hourly guys are constantly overworked and underpaid.  Management has no appreciation of its skilled workforce.  The turn over rate for employees has been very high for a long while now. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
As a machinist, you didn't ask day at your CNC machine trying to hold tight sizes on huge parts with old worn out equipment and management expects perfection.  It can be very stressful and handling the large setup equipment and tooling is very hard on your body.

Voith is a good company, with good people. Like most, it has it's pros and cons. The best thing about the company is, for lack of better terms,the family dynamic. Everyone relies on each other so heavily that it forces the teams to pull together. People who start off not getting along, will usually end up finding common ground.

 The downside is miscommunication from the management level. This may change as the company is being bought out, but there were three supervisors in charge of our group. Good people,but not very good at communicating with each other on the big issues...and certainly not on passing relative information down to the associates on the floor.

 This created a situation where a new schedule was implemented, with the goal of cutting down overtime. Due to miscommunication of how to set it up, some of us ended up working 6-7 days a week for 4 months...some even longer.

A good night was a night when you didn’t talk to the boss once. Being overly busy or appearing to be was the only job assurance you had. The supervisors were glorified babysitters who liked to throw their power around all while not even knowing how to do your job. Best decision I ever made was declining my recall option. After several years with the company I along with several other union coworkers were let go due to managements poor business decisions.  We were given one week to find insurance which in this economy with a limited budget is virtually impossible. This is how much they cared about us. This company cares more about the dollar than it does about the employee. Put in an application if you could care less about job security, don’t like having a life, and want a job with little to no options for advancement.

Day-to-day work involves hands on engineering. For engineering, the exposure to real industrial equipment and processes is genuinely valuable. What you learn here translates well to other industries.

Management is where the company falls short. Leadership is hit or miss to say the least, advancement conversations happen but rarely go anywhere, and accountability flows in one direction only. Decision making is driven more by ego and politics than by reason, and when things go wrong, the response tends to be reactive and punitive rather than professional. Management would benefit from self awareness and additional perspective.

The work itself is rewarding. The culture around it is not.

Has great potential but management likes to play favorites and there is a disconnect from the shop floor to upper management, leaving a lot of workplace problems unresolved. A few bad apples ruins shop morale and management seems to act like they care at first mention, then quickly forget. The shop itself is very dirty due to the nature of the work. No A/C in the summer but there is heat in the winter. Unlimited overtime mostly optional, occasionally mandatory "12 hours shifts until further notice" when "rush" job(s) come in.  laid back environment not fast-paced for the most part, because rushing in this line of work is very dangerous. Working with 5k to 100k lbs. paper mill rolls daily. 

Typical day at work: Coordinating with R+D to bring new product to market. Creating new product requirement documents. Creating all the sales documentation

What I learned: A great deal about specific paper machine engineering applications and how automation could improve the efficiency of machinery

Workplace culture: Positive, driven teams for Engineering, R+D & Marketing

Hardest part of the job: Developing a new brand image for the products (internet and eblasting platforms were in their infancy then)

Most enjoyable part of the job: Application of new technologies that demonstrated a substantial return on investment for the customer

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production 1 salary reported	$11.38 per hour
Operator 1 salary reported	$42,000 per year
Cleaner 1 salary reported	$11.63 per hour

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