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Member Spotlight - Carla Enzinger

August 2016

Each month, the PMA Member Spotlight features an outstanding member sharing his/her insights into the latest industry trends and technologies.



Carla Enzinger

PMA is pleased to highlight Carla Enzinger, HR manager at Batesville Tool & Die, Inc., Batesville, IN. The company is a is a global supplier of precision metal stamping components for the automotive, appliance, industrial and other industries.

Read Carla's thoughts about game-changing metalforming technology, what’s on her wish list for her plant and more!

Q: Which job classifications present the most challenges in finding skilled workers?
A: Technical and Skilled Trades

Q: What do you see as a technology game-changer for metalformers?
A: From an HR perspective, more robotics to enable an employee to run multiple jobs simultaneously, and higher-level sophistication to ERP systems.

Q: What is on your wish list for your shop this year?
A: To improve overall communications and teamwork between all levels of employees.

Q: What would be on the agenda of your ideal metalforming conference?
A:

  • Ways for the United States to become more competitive in manufacturing. I feel that the United States has lost its financial competitiveness to support U.S. citizens. Higher wages and added benefits are an expectation in the United States, while efficiency and improvements aren't growing at the needed pace.
  • Discussions on the Affordable Care Act.
    • How to "fix" the system. Include how each individual has to make efforts in developing healthier initiatives/lifestyles and rewarding those who comply. It currently appears that those doing the right things, whether looking at a company or an individual, get penalized, and the system needs to reverse this. 
    • Take another look at our welfare-benefit systems and the qualifications for receiving these benefits. Enabling by "giving" isn't getting people back to self-sufficiency. Receiving benefits becomes the easy way vs. working to develop skills and putting in effort to provide and sustain oneself financially. Spend the money on rehabilitation and support, but if people won't try to improve themselves, there should be consequences.
  • Working with educational systems to continue efforts/drives to build criteria in schools to address students’ future careers. Possibly looking into PBL (project-based learning), more cooperative opportunities, teacher externships in the career paths (i.e., visiting manufacturers to witness the current world of manufacturing and the advancements made, and ridding the old image of a dirty, grimy industry
  • The millennials have witnessed an extreme amount of technology and technology changes in their short life spans. Understanding "what to do when technology fails or shuts down while the need is still there to get the job done appears as a weakness with this generation. This may go back to our educational system that now relies so much on technology.
    • Also, how to meet halfway with the different generational groups to assist in communication, transfer of knowledge, etc., in order to improve and/or continue the path toward a company's success.

    Q: What was the best piece of business advice you were ever given?
    A: Honesty is so much easier to manage than dishonesty. Own your mistakes and learn from them. It takes a better person to admit mistakes and much harder to cover up, so why bother trying to cover up mistakes. Own up to mistakes, fix them and find ways to improve in the future.

    Q: If you could have a dinner party with three famous people (living or dead), who would you invite?
    A: Pope Francis I, Johnny Bench, Nicholas Sparks

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