Tony Tenaglier - a Pressing Leader
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Our people define who we are at Hitchiner, . 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
Our people define who we are at Hitchiner, . 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, here is :
Pressing Leader, a Q+A with Tony Tenaglier
· How long have you worked at Hitchiner?
o I’ve been working for just over two years with the Hitchiner team. I moved back to New Hampshire, as I grew up in Nashua, to be closer to family. I also missed New England after living and working in the Midwest for six years after graduating from college.
· In a nutshell, describe your job?
o My role seems to vary from day to day (in a good way!), but in general, it’s developing the heat treat process for nickel and cobalt superalloys to get customer and Nadcap aerospace approval. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a brand-new process from nothing!
· How many years have you been doing it?
o My heat treat role has lasted just over one year at the company. Originally when I first arrived at Hitchiner, I was assigned to the Gas Turbine Operation’s foundry department as the process engineer. Having had experience with foundry-related work in college and casting experience at my first job at a steel mill in Ohio, it was good to get back into casting product. Once the heat treat furnaces were ordered, my role switched over.
· What keeps you working at Hitchiner?
o Hitchiner is a unique family-owned aerospace company nestled in Milford, NH. With mountains in the backdrop on my commute to work, there are always opportunities to climb and conquer projects at the company.
· What was the thing that most surprised you about your job and the workplace?
o The freedom to seize opportunity in projects, to take leadership and manage certain tasks. I’ve not only managed large-scale capital projects, but also gotten my hands dirty by suiting up one day with the foundry operators to learn how to cast.
· Was there anything special about the work environment that you did not expect?
o Communication is key in the workplace. Daily walk arounds and updates on the company intranet page are subtle things that add up to making Hitchiner a special place to work. There is email BINGO going on! My cards aren’t lucky this go around, but it’s still been fun to play.
· What makes working at Hitchiner special?
o You can love your job, but if you don’t like the people you are working with, it will make for a rough workday. Every manager and coworker I’ve had has been great. That’s what makes me want to stay. Charity golf events, company team running events, ASM events, and socials are all just as important as the meetings during the day at work. Hitchiner is a continual source of giving back to the local community.
· Where do you see yourself in five years?
o I tried management years ago as I thought it was the only way to climb in my career. I’ve realized I prefer process development and see myself learning and growing in knowledge with the investment casting process. My goal is to become a Senior Process Engineer with the team.
· The foundry field is always changing: What have you done concerning personal development?
o Work-life balance is key. Golfing and bowling with coworkers in league night, drumming in the local band The kNowhere kidS, working out at the gym, and spending time with loved ones is a forever continual process and they all factor into my performance at work. To test my knowledge of the field, I write for the magazine Thermal Processing and share thoughts about quality and pyrometry-related topics in heat treat with the industry.
