Michael Patton
Production Support
ThyssenKrupp Presta

Mike Patton is not originally from Vermilion County, but he is very thankful that his mother's desire to attend the University of Illinois brought him down to east central Illinois from the Chicago area. He enjoys the smaller community and feels it is a great place to raise his children. He also loves his job at ThyssenKrupp Presta. Mike has been with the company for more than 10 years now. He was 23 when he began.

Mike started his career with Presta as a temporary employee. Six months after his placement, he was hired on as an inspector. Since that time, he has seen regular promotions to machine operator, production support, shift leader, cell team leader, and now his current role as production support, which he enjoys the most.

In this current capacity, Mike oversees two camshaft lines that produce product for three different clients. He oversees three machine operators and is there to make sure the machines are running efficiently and producing a high quality product.

Mike's skill building process has involved both formal learning, ongoing specialized educational workshops at Danville Area Community College, on-line training and on-the-job training with engineers within the plant. Mike also attended Parkland College and is one semester short of a degree in computer information systems

While Mike has worked in other manufacturing environments in central Illinois, he feels Presta is by far the best. "People here tend to congratulate you on a job well-done. When you're out there working hard, the company acknowledges it."

Mike feels his career growth and success is attributable to the fact that he comes to work every day willing to "give 110%." He's impatient with those who misjudge career opportunities in manufacturing and offers the following advice. "You cannot knock it until you try it. Come see for yourself. This is not a place where you get hired in at one position and get stuck there." Mike's promotion history is proof positive of that statement. "I love doing what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis and plan to be here a long time."


Training Available through Danville Area Community College for Industrial Support Positions:
Industrial Maintenance AAS 67 cr
Maintenance Mechanic Cert 37 cr
Advanced Maintenance Mech Cert 18 cr
Electronic Technology AAS 67 cr
Machine Tool Operations Cert 30 cf
Manufacturing Engineering Tech AAS 67 cr
Manufacturing Engineering Tech (CAD) 63 cr
Corporate & Community Education customized training

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