Career
Contact

Career boost at ORAFOL

Half a year at ORAFOL Americas, Advanced TPU Films 

 

Working in the USA some day – a dream for many of us. For Joseph Baarmann, process engineer in the Engineering & Technology division, this dream became a reality. He was lucky enough to spend seven and a half months contributing his skills and know-how at ORAFOL Americas in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. We asked him about his experiences during this time at one of our six US production sites. What makes people tick on the other side of the pond? And what can we learn from each other?

JOSEPH BAARMANN, PROCESS ENGINEER

Joseph is responsible for keeping our production facilities in Oranienburg, Germany running smoothly. He is also involved in product development, and as project engineer he is responsible for the installation of new machines. This skill set is so in demand at ORAFOL Americas, that our management team asked him if he would be willing to apply his skills on location.

As an engineer, Joseph was able to provide practical support in the construction of two new production lines. After three years at ORAFOL, he was drawn by the challenge of applying his existing knowledge while learning new things at the same time.

“The processes at ORAFOL Americas in the Advanced TPU Films division are different than those in Oranienburg. Here we work with casting and coating. There they use flat die extrusion, which involves squeezing hot plastic through a flat nozzle”

ORAFOL AMERICAS, ADVANCED TPU FILMS IN SOUTH DEERFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

American work culture

The work culture in the USA was also new. He quickly became acquainted with the differences, not least because of the company’s smaller size compared to Germany: “The size of the company affects the speed of the work. It’s more about quick and easy results than about finding the most well-thought-out solution. Though my own expectations sometimes did not come to fruition, i.e. because a more holistic solution would have been theoretically possible, it would have cost a few thousand dollars more and taken longer in the end.”

Direct feedback culture

But the biggest difference for Joseph was something else: “You often get direct feedback. It doesn’t matter whether something went well or poorly. In the USA, you have to expect direct feedback such as, ‘You did this poorly, and that’s why things aren’t going well right now.’ But then the next day everyone can still laugh together. People accept the criticism, fix the mistake, and then move on.” And the same is true the other way around: “They are much more ready to give praise, and it is more personal than it is in Germany.”

ORAFOL INTERNATIONAL - 17 SUBSIDIARIES, 30 LOCATIONS AND OVER 3,000 EMPLOYEES WORLDWIDE

Home sweet home

Joseph’s overall experience was a positive one, giving him plenty of lessons to take back with him. It also allowed him to see the situation at our German location in a new light: “As great as that time was, it made me realize how much I like and miss my job in Oranienburg. I was glad to be back.” Nevertheless, Joseph says that he would recommend the experience to anyone, should the opportunity arise and their personal situation permit it. At the moment he doesn’t have another trip planned, but you never know. For Joseph, the future is always open: “I would definitely be ready to do it again.”

 

About ORAFOL Americas Advanced TPU Films: The ORAFOL Americas Advanced TPU Films site in South Deerfield emerged from the integration of extrusion specialist NUPRO LLC into the ORAFOL Group in 2021. ORAFOL has established a state-of-the-art facility for high-quality aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane films (TPU films) in South Deerfield, MA.

Read more in the ORAFOL magazine

Back to top