REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
May 15, 2023
Special Report by Jordan Vitick
Adam Arruda, 35
Plant Engineer
Teknor Apex Co.
Adam Arruda joined Yushin America Inc. in 2009 as a mechanical engineer designing automation equipment for molding and thermoforming machines.
He started working for Teknor Apex Co. in 2011 as a mechanical engineer in the corporate engineering department, where he was responsible for new equipment installations and upgrades in company facilities around the world. Arruda then became the plant engineer for the materials firm’s Leominster, Mass., plant in 2016 and then the plant engineer for the Pawtucket, R.I., facility in 2020.
“As plant engineer for Teknor Apex, I am actively involved in the manufacturing of plastics compounds. I’m also on our company’s Operation Clean Sweep team, which aims to eliminate powders, pellets and flakes that escape the facility, and I am part of the selection team for our company’s Innovation Campaigns,” he added.
“I get to work with all different machines, processes and people. I never feel like I’m doing the same thing day after day, and that keeps me interested,” he added.
Arruda graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA. “I think my greatest achievement was getting my MBA. It opened a world of possibilities for my career, and I’m happy to say I did it while working full time, balancing my personal and professional life,” he said.
Arruda said his current challenge is managing a project to install a new compounding line while simultaneously maintaining existing equipment.
“Ultimately,” he said, “I would like to become a vice president, but my immediate goal is to become a plant manager.”
Tuesday Geeting, 31
Senior Innovation Marketing Manager
Teknor Apex Co.
Tuesday Geeting calls herself “a small-town girl living in a manufacturing world.”
“As a fourth-generation manufacturing and materials science industry employee, I’m deeply passionate about the things we make, how we make them and the impact they have on the day-to-day lives of people all over the world,” she said.
Geeting has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northwood University. Joining Teknor Apex Co. as a product marketing manager was her first role in the plastics industry.
“Though I spent 12 years at Dow in other functions and divisions, silicones most recently, when the opportunity presented itself to learn a new industry and help promote the virtues of often misunderstood and misrepresented plastics solutions as a value-added material in our lives, I was in,” said the senior innovation marketing manager.
Geeting is heavily involved in her community and work, including an animal rescue organization, a Little League team and the junior high pompon squad. At Dow, she participated in founding and growing VetNet, an employee resource group, and its sister organization, the Great Lakes Bay Veterans Coalition. Geeting was honored with several awards at Dow, including bronze awards for delivering innovative solutions and generating customer value, as well as silver and gold awards for collaborating for superior results. She’s also a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers.
“I think about my future in the industry a lot less in terms of specific roles and a lot more in terms of finding opportunities where I can make real, measurable impact and work with people I love,” Geeting said. “The right team, the right time and the right fit for me to make a difference — that’s the job I really want to have in the future.”
Justin Jolliffe, 30
Senior Environmental,
Health and Safety Manager
Teknor Apex Co
As the senior environmental, health and safety manager for Pawtucket, R.I.-based Teknor Apex Co., Justin Jolliffe said injury prevention is one of the main facets of his job. During his first year at his facility, the number of recordable injuries dropped from 26 the previous year to 10. “Being able to reduce the number of injuries at my workplace and sending our employees home safe is something I’m proud of,” Jolliffe said.
A graduate of Keene State College in New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in safety
and occupational health applied sciences, Jolliffe said he’s always enjoyed watching the Discovery Channel and shows like How It’s Made.
“My first plastics job was while I was working at a factory in Leominster, Mass., for Georgia-Pacific. As a fresh college graduate, I was keen on seeing what sort of machinery people had built to help manufacture goods that we use all over the world, and boy, did I hit the jackpot! To this day, seeing the feats of engineering we’ve installed on our production lines at manufacturing facilities never ceases to amaze me,” said Jolliffe, who joined Teknor Apex in 2019. “Plastic is an incredibly versatile material, and what we’ve been able to build and create with it is truly amazing.”
Jolliffe is involved with the Safety Association of Rhode Island and the Plastics Industry Association’s Future Leaders in Plastics. He obtained his Associate Safety Professional designation and is pursuing the next level of certification, Certified Safety Professional.
Jolliffe also is “actively taking on more responsibility in my current role by joining the innovation team and traveling to other locations to broaden my knowledge in the field.”
Alyssa Rohr, 34
Product Manager
Teknor Apex Co.
Alyssa Rohr was interested in joining the plastics industry “because of how it impacts so many different areas we touch every day, of which many are unaware.”
“Since I started in the plastics industry, I am often surprised by how many markets we influence and are a part of. I love sharing with those outside of the industry where they are interacting with plastics every day and how necessary they are to our economy,” she said.
Rohr earned a bachelor’s degree in energy, business and finance with a minor in economics from Pennsylvania State University.
Her role as product manager for Pawtucket, R.I.-based materials firm Teknor Apex Co. is her first in the plastics industry. Previous positions have included application engineer and business analyst for The Linde Group and product manager for BASF.
“I think as a product manager, in a new role at this company,” Rohr said, “I am in a very special position where I can bring some new ideas to the company and industry, and I hope that work continues.”
Rohr, who said her current challenge is integrating new processes to create efficiency, continues to network with current and previous employees “to learn about new career trends and opportunities.”
“I think networking with others is a great way to learn about positions that you may not have thought fit for you before,” she said. “Most of my resume showcases a lot of different roles, and I think it’s very important to try different functions and industries to find what you will be happy with.”
Outside of work, Rohr is involved with United Way and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
Reprinted with permission from Plastics News. © 2023 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
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