“Years ago, with no training in manufacturing and desperate for a job, I convinced my company to hire me as a machine operator,” said Viedra Sullivan, HR Generalist for Advics Manufacturing. “I told them what I lacked in experience I would over compensate with the desire to be the best.”

Since that day, Viedra has continued to prove herself at Advics, getting promoted to lab tech, quality assistant, and then training coordinator, where she blended her passions for teaching with helping others.

“I had a desire to keep furthering myself. I attended every class to become a more effective trainer. I also applied for tuition reimbursement at my company and earned my bachelor’s degree with a concentration in human resources.”

Today, Viedra is the HR Generalist at Advics and has started offering voluntary leadership development classes for her peers. She said, “This past October, I graduated 25 people from my first session, who will be able to continue to grow with the company and contribute at a higher level.”

Viedra said, “I was out to dinner one night and ran into a co-worker. Her husband hugged me and thanked me for changing his wife’s life.” She continued, “It’s the impact my training makes on others and moments like these that I will never forget.”

“When I first started in manufacturing years ago my grandmother encouraged me to pursue other careers,” Tammie Hood, general manager for G&K Services said.

Holding a variety of jobs within G&K Services, Tammie starting off as a sewing machine operator, then began designing and producing emblems for uniforms, and with a couple of changes in between became the plant manager and then senior operations manager, where she oversaw 10 plants across the Southeast and developed processes that were implemented company-wide. Today, as general manager of the Atlanta facility, she is responsible for providing uniform options for metro Atlanta, North Georgia, and South Tennessee.

“I have had quite a career and have been able to experience many different jobs within the company. Recently I even checked a dream off my bucket list, when I got to be an extra (using an industrial presser) in a few movie scenes that Jamie Foxx was filming in our facility!”

Tammie said, “My grandmother always wanted me to have a better life than she did and I truly believe she would be amazed at the direction manufacturing has gone and to see what I’ve accomplished, and that she would now tell me I’ve chosen the perfect path.”

“Having grown up in Germany, it is required to do an apprenticeship as part of our schooling. I chose a technical draftsman route,” said Susanne Lauda of AGCO. She continued, “I spent half of this program working on the shop floor and I became enamored with manufacturing and earned a degree in production engineering.”

Upon graduation Susanne took a job in the United States, working on the external tank of the space shuttle. She later became a naturalized citizen and moved to Georgia, where she began her career at AGCO.

“Today I lead a team across three continents, helping implement new manufacturing processes and tools.” She said, “I am also globally implementing a product lifecycle management program and leading cross-functional team to develop a strategy for Smart Factory operations across AGCO.

Susanne said, “What we are doing internally is a huge undertaking and I encourage my team to embrace challenges and not fear obstacles.”

“In addition to what I do in the office, I’ve gotten very involved in the women in manufacturing networking groups, helping to be a role model to young girls in STEM programs. I was recently named a 2017 STEP Award Honoree to honor my work in attracting women to industry.”

Since 1984 Mike Williams has enhanced the safety of commercial and military aircraft through innovative technologies. In South Florida, Mike founded Jetaire Flight Systems, a manufacturer of high-reliability electronic hardware and systems. In 1998, he moved the company to Atlanta to be closer to family and establish a closer working relationship with the FAA regional office.

Mike said, “Over the years we’ve progressed as an organization. We started out in product development, then established the ability to design and manufacture our prototypes in-house. Having full production capabilities allows turnkey and cost-efficient services for our customers.” He continued, “We designed and manufactured a smoke detection and fire suppression system for large passenger aircraft that is less expensive and can be manufactured in half the time of other products.”

For Mike, aviation has always been a passion and he is passing his love of airplanes onto his family. He said, “My two daughters now work for Jetaire and in my free time I take my grandson on small plane rides out of our local airports.”

“I have a Lego collection that would rival any child,” Marten Hutchison, innovator for Shaw said.

Ever since he was a kid Marten tinkered with new ideas. Wanting to go into automobile manufacturing, he obtained a mechanical engineering degree from Georgia Tech. During his freshman year, he applied to Tech’s cooperative program. For the next 2 ½ years Marten was a co-op at Shaw, while finishing his degree at Tech. “I had such a great experience that I was hired on by Shaw full-time once I graduated,” Marten said.

Since joining the company in 1993, Marten has held numerous jobs and today is a true innovator for the largest carpet manufacturer in the world. He led a team to build one of the largest plastic bottle recycling facilities in North America and enjoys exploring equipment and technology to improve processes and incorporate automation into Shaw’s plants.

Outside the office, Marten uses his time to excite students about science and technology careers. He said, “I am a high school robotics team coach, where we get to conceptualize, prototype, design, build, and program robots to compete in the FIRST Robotics competitions.” He continued, “Recently our team won one of four Rookie Inspiration awards at the World competition.”