Contact Information:
Name:
Mr. George Butler

Address:
4234 Ocmulgee E. Blvd
Macon, GA 31217-5638

Phone:
(478)744-6343

E-mail address:
drewbutler@ykk-usa.com

Education Information
Undergraduate Major:
Mechanical Engineering

Degree Received:
BSME

Graduation Year:
1972

Activities, student organizations, leadership roles, etc. in which I was involved at UT:
ASME-Student Member, Baptist Student Union, COOP

Job Information
Employer Name:
YKK(USA), Inc.

Employer Web Site:
http://www.ykkusa.com

Present Job Title:
Plant Engineer

Brief description of my job responsibilities, e.g. a typical week in my job:
My position manages the construction engineering group, the facilities maintenance group, the Macon machine shop, and the capital purcahsing group. In January of 2001, I will drop management of the capital purcahsing group and pickup the environmental group. Typically, my week consists of meeting with my reporting managers and reviewing their activities and relating company information to these managers and their efforts. I meet weekly with the General Manager and the staff managers, of which I am one. This meeting generally informs the staff of any activities or information coming from the corporate group. I review invoices for payment from construction budgets, I discuss personnel problems with my reporting managers and give advice or seek information from other departments.
Along with these regular duties, I am responsible for coordinating the yearly budget process for the engineering department. I am responsible for the activities which take place during the semi-annual production shutdowns.

Suggestions I would give to undergraduate students with regard to courses, internships, and other means of preparation for my career field:
I would advise working as a coop student to any enginering student, and any student if coop is available. It gives someone an opportunity to observe and experience how the jobs in their field actually work. There are numerous contnuing education opportunities to educate and reeducate anyone. I would recommend pursuing prefessional registration for engineers and advise taking the EIT while in college. I am registered and a Certified Plant Engineer through the Association for Facilities Engineering(AFE). Go out and talk to working engineers, call a consulting firm or a manufacturing plant and ask to talk to someone. Most engineers are happy to talk about what they do.

My career path in getting to this position:
The phrase "career path" indicates a planned effort to arrive at a position. I have mostly wandered. I was educated as a Machine Designer and have pursued that area only once. The majority of my career, 32 years, has been spent in plant engineering, and that is where my preparation has come from. I have worked in six different industries and have endeavoured to learn practical lessons in each of them. I had aspired to reach the position of Plant Engineer since 1978 and achieved it in 1995. Mostly because a contrator whom I worked with recommended me to YKK.

Other advice for students interested in gaining entry into and pursuing a career in this field:
Understand the limitations of the career you choose. Every path has its rewards and drawbacks. I can tell students that the Plant Engineering postion requires more than a 40 hour week and often involves weekends and traditional holidays. Basically you work when other people aren't. Learn as much as you can whereever you are, and learn everythiong you can from ther people you meet.


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