mailto:Pshea@new.rr.com; colinandsheila@sbcglobal.net

Hey guys,
Sorry I haven't written you back yet, but I had one of my working
weekends, so I was pretty busy.
Anyways, to clarify, if you're looking more for the mechanical or
operations side for getting hired in, you'd have to go through normal hiring
procedures and then test for mechanical jobs when they open. The same also
applies to the electrical jobs, but they defintitely have hiring preference
for those type of applicants. But that being said, we are still facing lots
of retirements (particularly after our next contract which is up in a few
months). We just hired 9 new people this week, and we hired about a dozen
more over the last nine months, all in the operations group (non-electircal
and mechanical maintenance). Since we have some government contracts, we
are required to go through the unemployment office for hiring, which for my
plant is in South Bend, IN. I can provide a contact address and number if
you're still interested. There is a fairly simple test involved to qualify
for the interview process, which is when they would review your resume.
What it would mean if you got hired, would be that you would start at a
normal material handler job (the entry level position), which is 1040 hours
probation at about $14 an hour, with a top rate of $17 or so when qualified
(don't have the figures handy). In addition, you would receive the full
bonus of $4500+ per quarter (although it is in escrow until you finish your
1040 hour probation), plus profit sharing bonuses that can range from about
$150-2500 per quarter, usually somwhere around $300-1000. To give you an
example, most people working the material handler jobs at about 15-20%
overtime make about $73-80k a year or so pre-tax. On average, if you did
not test into an electrical job (and I assure you, it is a tough test, which
you probably wouldn't pass if you don't have an extensive electrical
background), you would have to wait probably 2-4 years to get an operator
job that pays $23.30 an hour (same bonuses). Also, as for age requirements,
there are technically none (by law). One of the guys hired a few weeks ago
was 39. The others were as young as 19, and most were in their 30's, I'd
say without actually checking the exact data. I know they have hired
material handlers in their 40's in the last few years.
Some general info on my plant: It is called I/N Tek, I/N Kote (it's
actually two sister plants) owned by Mittal Steel in New Carlise, IN (about
20 miles west of South Bend). It's a finishing plant, so we don't make
steel, but finish steel sent to us from the Indiana Harbor Works steel
mills. We are represented by the United Steelworkers Union. It is also
what is known as a "self-motivated workforce". What that means is that most
decisions are left up to the workers, such as vacation scheduling/coverage,
troubleshooting, problem solving, discipline to some extent, etc.
Management and our "foremen" are usually around only from 7am to 5pm. This
means we have more responsibility, but also more freedom. Believe it or
not, it works very well more often than not. And we routiniley beat the
Japanese plant that we were modeled after as far as production.
Now, the best I can do from a hiring standpoint if you were serious
about applying is to put in a recommendation form for you. I don't think
either of you live that close, so you'd have to arrange ways to take the
test and attend the interview, provided it goes that far. If you're worried
about qualifications, not critiquing either of your resumes, but I can say
that many of the people hired recently have limited or no experience in the
steel industry (or any industry) and some come straight out of retail jobs.
Well, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. I certainly
couldn't give any guarantees or give your odds on getting in provided you're
even still interested. What I can say, is that you can make a good living
doing it and the work is certainly not backbreaking.
Sincerely,
Terry Tyrka




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