Rigoberto Torres
Product Engineer
ThyssenKrupp Crankshaft

Rigoberto's favorite subject as a student at Danville High School was math. He couldn't get enough of it.
After graduation, Rigo went one semester to Southern IL University on a baseball scholarship. The second semester, he came back home and worked. By fall of the next year, he went to DACC and began taking classes with no real major in sight. An instructor at DACC noticed his capabilities and, since he had not declared a major, suggested he consider engineering.

While at DACC he learned about the Vermilion Advantage partnership with Bradley University called Engineers for Tomorrow (EFT). He applied and was accepted and did his last two years at Bradley graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

A part of the EFT program graduates are required to return to Vermilion County and spend the first two years for their career working for a sponsoring cluster company. Rigo joined ThyssenKrupp Crankshaft upon his graduation in 2007. His first position was as a Process Engineer who dealt mostly with the die and tooling designs. In his current role as a Product Engineer Rigo works with the customer for the specific part and design they need.

The thing he likes best is the contact with the customers -- their needs and expectations and finding solutions for them.

The hardest part of the job is balancing multiple projects and the deadlines that come with each. He has now been working for ThyssenKrupp for 4 years. "I'm happy here and I don't feel the need to go anywhere else. There is still a lot I can learn and do and much room for growth. I would like to use the base knowledge I have about the product and learn other sectors of the company," Rigo told me confidently.

Rigo admits that what is hard to convey to high school students about this kind of career pathway is the "excitement and satisfaction you get" when you see products come out with designs to which you've contributed.

"Since I work closely with sales, I'm thinking about getting my MBA and eventually moving more into Sales Account management. I have a lot more to learn. I need to understand each department and how it works."

Rigo is not only confident about the career path he chose, but also about his decision to return to the Danville area. "For those that don't think there are any good opportunities here, they are not looking very hard. I initially came back here because this is where my family is. It just felt natural."

Rigo's excitement and passion about his employer is also evident when he speaks. "ThyssenKrupp is a high-technology company. Some of our processes are the most automated in the world from beginning to end. That's manufacturing today. People need to seek out opportunities to see firsthand what is done and how it is done in today's manufacturing."

Rigo has also gotten a taste of the global world in which we live. His job has also involved international travel. "I've been to Brazil and Germany and in the future may get to travel to China and India. When you see what happens in other locations around the world you can bring it back home and put it all together for the benefit of the entire group."

JUST THE FACTS
Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Engineers apply the principles of science and mathematics to develop economical solutions to technical problems. There work is the link between scientific discoveries and the commercial applications that meet societal and consumer needs.

• Employment is projected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations, although growth will vary by specialty; overall job opportunities for engineers are expected to be good

Related Occupations include:
> Engineering technicians
> Industrial Engineers
> Mechanical Engineers
> Materials Engineers
> Process Engineers

Training Available through Danville Area Community College for industrial support positions:
Manufacturing Engineering Tech AAS 67 cr
Manufacturing Engineering Tech (CAD) 63 cr
Transfer AES Degree 65 cr (1st 2 years)

OTHER CLUSTER COMPANIES THAT EMPLOY PROCESS/PRODUCT ENGINEERS
Viscofan USA
ThyssenKrupp Presta

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