From Engineers to Earthquakes

00:00:00: Hello, I'm your host, Adam Brunner, and welcome to the Iconic Minute, your quick, bi-weekly

00:00:06: podcast for all the important stories, news, and announcements for Iconics North America

00:00:10: region.

00:00:11: The date is April 11, 2024, and on today's episode, we'll talk about an earthquake that

00:00:16: struck 20 miles from Iconics North America headquarters.

00:00:19: Iconic Mexico President Martin Toscano will share his thoughts about nearshoring and how

00:00:23: Iconic can benefit from the trend.

00:00:25: And finally, we celebrate the newest cohort of engineers graduating from Iconics North

00:00:30: America Rotational Engineer Program.

00:00:33: Those stories and more, coming up in just a minute.

00:00:46: Heaven and Earth moved for Iconic employees in North America.

00:00:49: On Monday, a solar eclipse darkened the skies over Iconic facilities in Mexico, Canada, and

00:00:54: the United States, with employees from Little Rock, Arkansas to Allentown, Pennsylvania,

00:00:58: stepping outside to take in the wonder of the natural phenomenon.

00:01:02: Only three days earlier, Iconic sites in the northeast were rattled by a 4.8 magnitude

00:01:06: earthquake.

00:01:07: The epicenter of the quake was only 20 miles west of Iconic's North America headquarters

00:01:11: in Piscataway, New Jersey.

00:01:13: State officials and Iconic site managers reported no damage, and the rumble initially

00:01:17: puzzled colleagues who'd never experienced a quake before, like Pornima Rubero, technical

00:01:22: marketing manager, semiconductors for the SILANES business line.

00:01:26: So I was in the second floor of R&D 3 building in Allentown, and I was on a team's call,

00:01:32: and suddenly I felt like everything was shaking, and first I thought it was construction, but

00:01:38: then it felt different.

00:01:39: So I was like, oh, is this an earthquake?

00:01:43: And colleagues on the phone was like, oh, there are no earthquakes in Pennsylvania.

00:01:47: It cannot be.

00:01:48: But sure enough, I get the text.

00:01:52: That was a earthquake.

00:01:55: Nearshoring is one of the biggest buzzwords in global business right now.

00:01:58: U.S. companies are currently looking at nearshoring to secure reliable supply chains and reduce

00:02:03: geopolitical risks.

00:02:04: Martin Toscano, president of Iconic Industries Day Mexico, has been talking about this trend

00:02:10: for years.

00:02:12: Nearshoring is a reality as we speak.

00:02:14: We have seen it in all of our business segments.

00:02:17: Some companies are expanding existing plants in Mexico, others are newcomers, and there

00:02:21: are many from Asia.

00:02:37: sectors. An influx of new manufacturing will give Vonix, Mexico sites opportunities to expand

00:02:43: across all business segments from feed and food to automotive and aerospace. But as Martin Toscano

00:02:48: points out, Mexico also faces some challenges. Mexico will need new investments in security,

00:02:54: transportation and infrastructure to keep up with the anticipated growth. And the country could also

00:03:00: face a shortage of skilled talent. This requires new training initiatives supported by the private

00:03:06: sector. Finally, we turn to Vonix North America rotational engineer program, Narrett for short.

00:03:14: This summer, Narrett will be graduating its newest cohort of six engineers. Congratulations to Daniel

00:03:20: Robinson, who is currently working in Hopel, Virginia. Trevor Thrasher currently working in

00:03:25: Harvard, Grace, Maryland. Caitlin Cotera, Tana Wanda, New York. Tyler Johnson in Mobile, Alabama.

00:03:32: Guadalupe Zuniga, Tippy Canoe Labs in Indiana. And Gabby Butner, who is finishing her final

00:03:38: rotation in Pasadena, Texas. Narrett is a two year development program for engineering graduates.

00:03:44: When it was started in 2011, it was Vonix first regional on the job development program for recent

00:03:49: college graduates. By allowing participants to work at two different Vonix sites in the U.S.,

00:03:54: it helps them develop technical and soft skills that are necessary to be successful in their careers.

00:03:59: So far, 56 graduates have completed the program, including the six that will finish this summer.

00:04:04: Ina Hayditt, the business and organizational manager for process and technology in Vonix

00:04:09: nutrition and care business line, currently oversees the program. The North America rotational

00:04:16: engineer program is not only a great resource for increasing Vonix pool of talented engineers,

00:04:23: but it's also a great opportunity for the participants to get to go this skill

00:04:28: and they get to see different sites and network with other ironic and subject matter experts.

00:04:34: Before you go, Vonix employee resource group for women, Grow Americas,

00:04:42: celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science by offering science demonstrations at

00:04:47: the Birmingham, Alabama, Blair, Nebraska and Tippy Canoe, Indiana sites. Grow chapters at

00:04:52: each facility engaged with local programs to promote STEM fields and demonstrate that women

00:04:57: can thrive in science careers. And that's the news. I'm Adam Brunner. Thank you for spending

00:05:03: some time with me today on The Ivonic Minute.

00:05:14: beyond chemistry.