Haleyanne Freedman, 26
Engineering Market Manager — 3D Printing
M. Holland Co.
Born in Sacramento, Calif., Haleyanne Freedman packed up her car five years ago and moved to the Midwest to start a new job. She drove to Wisconsin but ended up moving to Chicago because she loved it.
Before landing in the 3D printing arena, she said she "jumped around" in her career.
"I was trying to find an industry and position that would challenge me the way I needed to be challenged, but that I loved enough that I could create a long-term career out of it," she said. "I took on a few jobs in a row that I was underqualified for but I knew I could learn very quickly."
She had no experience in 3D printing but knew she wanted to be in industrial manufacturing and wanted to learn.
"I dove headfirst into learning and understanding the technology. I spent three months just playing and experimenting with the printers, understanding how they work, how to fix them, what their capabilities are and the materials they run," Freedman said. "When I realized I had found a new passion, I bought my own for use at home so I could further my knowledge."
Once she was hired at M. Holland Co. as a technical expert, Freedman knew this industry was for her and she set her sights on the market manager role for career advancement.
Freedman is the chairperson of the Chicago and Wisconsin chapter for Women in 3D Printing and vice chair for Women in Manufacturing's Wisconsin chapter. She is also involved in the Society of Women Engineers.
Kristina Leal of Ink Communications nominated Freedman for Rising Stars.
Plastics News: What is your philosophy related to plastics and sustainability? What steps have you taken to improve plastics' sustainability, either in work, your community or personal life?
Freedman: 3D Printing is a very sustainability-friendly process. 3D Printing reduces waste substantially, but at the lab, we recycle all of our used plastics, and I've also started a sustainability initiative for our customers utilizing recycled ABS pellets to create filament. When the parts are done being used, the customers ship them back to the site and they are rechopped again and recycled over and over. The material contains 20 percent of the material that is recycled endlessly, while the other 80 percent is recycled ABS pellets. It allows us to create a truly sustainable material ecosystem as opposed to creating new plastics and increasing our carbon footprint.
Q: What is your current challenge at work?
Freedman: We are currently very focused on growing our Latin American market for 3D Printing. We have been training our local Mexico-based team, but the market is very different, and I don't speak Spanish well at all. It's definitely a challenge, but I'm hoping to start Spanish classes soon so I can better communicate with our own staff and our customers and grow the business in Latin America.
Q: Greatest achievement?
Freedman: I think my greatest achievements are in my current role. I was able to secure the market manager role at the age of 26 and assembled a complete 3D print line card in under a year and a half. I'm involved in various professional organizations and am an accomplished speaker.
Q: What emerging technology or market most interests you?
Freedman: I'm extremely interested in the progression of SLS technology in 3D. More and more stable polymer technologies are emerging for Open Platform 3D Printers and SLS is getting faster and faster; it's beginning to get competitive with injection molding!