Contract Mechanical Engineering Addresses Immediate Workforce Need

Arconic is a leading provider of aluminum sheet, plate and extrusions, as well as innovative architectural products for the automotive, aerospace, commercial transportation, industrial, packaging, and building and construction markets. At their Massena, New York, facility they employ 165 people and produce cold drawn rod/bar, extruded forge stock and extruded rod/bar.

Many manufacturers are facing workforce issues and, although a lot of attention is given to the shortage of capable entry-level workers and what companies can do to attract and retain those line-level employees, there is also an industry-wide shortage of qualified mid- and upper-level engineers with leadership experience. At Arconic, it became necessary to improve preventive maintenance as well as breakdown recovery assistance and shutdown planning in the extrusion area.  Ideally the role was to close the gap created with recent engineering turnover.  

CITEC, part of the New York MEP and the MEP National Network™, was able to provide contract mechanical engineering support to Arconic on a temporary, yet ongoing, basis, to assist personnel in maintenance roles. Projects included developing a plan to upgrade some key equipment that was experiencing reliability issues and sourcing, installing spare parts due to shortages and the age of the equipment. This involved working with outside resources to quote, plan and execute a major shutdown. As the lead project manager, CITEC coordinated production, contractors and onsite resources for the removal of old components and installation and testing the new equipment. Returning the equipment to full operating capacity potentially gained the company $2.4 million in capacity annually. In this role CITEC also facilitated the development of new annual preventive maintenance guidelines and schedules that the new engineers can easily execute and monitor from the moment of onboarding.