At Hitchiner, our people define who we are. For everything we create, our team is given the freedom, education, and training needed to access new ideas, apply knowledge, and practice skills. Encouraging initiative is part of our culture. We believe in teamwork, invest in ideas and recognize success - offering equal opportunity and fair compensation to all. Meet the people we make us who we are, starting with:

Growing in Good Company, a Q+A with Joseph Peterson

• Q: How long have you worked at Hitchiner?

  • A: I have been working at Hitchiner for just shy of 10 years (February 2011) starting as a standard foundry operator and working at several positions up through manufacturing engineer.

• Q: In a nutshell, your job?

  • A: In a nutshell, my job involves maintaining and improving the process that we use to remove all the unwanted bits from our parts (i.e. extra shell, excess metal). This means everything from reviewing and maintaining instructions to designing and building new machines and equipment. 

• Q: How many years have you been doing it? 

  • A: I’ve been working at the position I hold now position for two years.

• Q: What keeps you working at Hitchiner? 

  • A: The company has shown a willingness to invest in my future, providing not only higher skilled job positions but the training and education to support them. Any company willing to invest internally in its workforce is worth sticking by.

• Q: What was the thing that most surprised you about your job and the workplace? 

  • A: The level of independence has always surprised me. When I worked an hourly position there was always a point-by-point plan of action. Moving to a salary position, I became the one responsible for developing that plan. This means I get to own my own schedule, but also own the repercussions of spending any of my time unwisely.

• Q: Was there anything special about the work environment that you did not expect?

  • A: To be entirely honest, I tried to approach new situations without any explicit expectations, and I don’t think I know how to answer this question fully. 

• Q: What makes working at Hitchiner special?

  • A: Hitchiner has always been a significant name in my life. My father worked for the company for almost my entire early life before retiring in 2018. Hitchiner also benefits from the uniqueness of being privately own by a local owner. Prior to quarantine protocols, it wasn’t uncommon to see the owner eating lunch at the local on-site restaurant and strike up a friendly conversation.

• Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?

  • A: I see myself making the jump to management within the next five to 10 years. I still enjoy what I do in my current position and feel I have the capacity to do more while being closer to the floor operations in this position. I plan to use the next few years to return to school for business management and once I’ve learned to be more effective as a leader, make the jump to that role.

• Q: The foundry field is always changing. What have you done concerning personal development?

  • A: I started in our foundry department and attended schooling not only for automation, but for engineering. I spent time in multiple roles during my schooling, moving from foundry to our maintenance division where I got hands on experience with many of the machines that are unique to Hitchiner’s process. Once in my current role, I’ve used my expertise in automation to try to bring computerized and robotic applications to the departments I work with.