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Sunday, March 08, 2009
Schott workers get to meet their global colleagues
By By Michael Hartranft
Journal Staff Writer
For 90 Schott Solar employees, working for a company with a European heritage has paid dividends even before the plant rolls out its first product in Albuquerque.
The Germany-based company won't open its $100 million manufacturing complex in Mesa del Sol until this spring, but over the past six months it has been sending some new hires to train at out-of-state sister facilities — in Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain.
"Because we have a global manufacturing footprint," said Schott spokesman Brian Lynch, "we were able to successfully leverage that by sending these employees to train on the exact same line and equipment that they will be doing here."
The Albuquerque plant will produce 225-watt photovoltaic modules and receivers for solar power utility scale power plants. It employs 160 people and expects to have 330 by the end of the year.
George Schardon, a tech services/facilities technician, who trained in Valasske Mezirici, Czech Republic, and Mitterteich, Germany, said even though he's worked in electromechanics for more than 25 years, he feels more prepared for his new job.
"What was nice about being shipped over there was getting a taste of the future," he said.
The training overseas took employees away from their homes and families for one- to six-month stretches. But for most, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, including watching the U.S. presidential election from a unique vantage.
"Obama was on the lips of everyone in Germany," said Diane Moseley, a production supervisor.
Moseley trained in Mitterteich for most of her September-to-Christmas stay in Europe, but she also spent a week in Sevilla, Spain.
"It was an incredible experience," she said. "They have obviously networked the folks from the Czech Republic, Spain and Germany, and if something falls apart here, we know we can pick up a phone, send an e-mail or even get on a plane, and the other end of the family will help us out."
The company provided two weeks of daily German language classes to prepare trainees heading to Mitterteich. "It definitely helped when you walked into a restaurant out there and asked for a small soda," Moseley said, with a laugh.
The European commitment to alternative energy is evident throughout the countryside, said production technician Sammy Veloz, who was in Sevilla from mid-September to mid-November. He said he saw scores of solar panels "and a lot of our products as well being used out in the field."
"One thing that really caught my attention was when we were headed over to Portugal, every two kilometers there's a phone out there," he said. "It was solar-powered. Hopefully, we'll see that out here someday with our technology."
Schott jobs
Schott Solar in Albuquerque has job openings for production technicians, material specialists, a process technician and IT analyst. Prospective applicants should visit the Schott Web site, www.us.schott.com, and click on jobs, then solar careers Albuquerque. Those interested in production technician positions can also go to Manpower, No. 102, 4100 Osuna NE, Albuquerque. Take a resume. Or visit www.manpower-nm.com.
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