Ed Clark - Graduate Composite Processing Engineer
BEng Materials Engineering
I graduated from Loughborough University in
2005 with a BEng in Materials Engineering. Over
the next few months I held a few different temporary
jobs whilst hunting for my first and ideal “proper”
job. Having had a life long passion in cars
and boats, both of which sparked a keen interest
in composite materials, I made the decision
that composites was the field I wanted to have
a career in.
I applied to Gurit’s graduate scheme
in early 2006. What attracted me was pretty
simple; it was a graduate job working with composites.
I also recognised the company name (albeit in
previous SP Systems guise) from marine products,
so knew a little bit about the company before
applying. The interview process was fairly painless,
with telephone interview, followed by a second
in-person one. Having been offered the job,
within two weeks I had moved to the Isle of
Wight (thanks in part to the generous relocation
benefit,) and started work at the Newport facility.
The first few weeks were spent on a flexible
training program, working in different departments,
such as prototyping, analytical and production.
During this time, I also started working on
a small project of my own, working with other
members of the Wind Energy Composite Processing
team. The training program and projects were
especially helpful in allowing me to quickly
build relationships with fellow employees, as
well as providing a useful insight into how
the company operates. The main hurdle I encountered
over the first few months was to understand
the vast array of products produced by Gurit;
there are a fair few to say the least!
In my role as a Composite Processing Engineer,
I am involved in two main areas, the first is
supporting customers who use our products, and
the second is developing new products and processes
for the future. One of the most refreshing aspects
of the placement so far has been the overall
responsibility I’ve been given to work
independently, in as much as “here is
the project, here is the deadline, get on with
it.” It can be a little daunting to start
with, but thankfully Gurit has a friendly atmosphere
that makes it easy to approach people and find
out the answers to any questions.
I was originally placed within the Wind Energy
team, however after a few months, I was moved
over to the Marine side of Composite Processing.
This has been an interesting and enjoyable move
as the challenges involved are quite different.
For example, our Wind Energy market involves
a few large customers, requiring specific and
detailed data, whereas our Marine customers
are smaller, each with their own generally broader
yet unique requirements.
Living on the island hasn’t posed any
problems. It may not be the social hub of the
world, but for a keen yacht racer like myself,
it’s pretty good. Thanks to discounted
ferry tickets available through the company,
the north island (or “the mainland”)
isn’t that far away for a weekend either!
Overall, I’m thoroughly enjoying my time
at Gurit. It’s a company that is expanding
rapidly, and with more and more industries turning
to composite materials, this is set to continue.
If I’m honest, I couldn’t think
of a better place to start a career in composites. |
