Internships Thrive At Harmony Enterprises

Harmony Enterprises has utilized the talents of summer interns for several years.  These internships at Harmony Enterprises allow college-level students the opportunity to gain experience in diverse areas of interest, all while gaining a more accurate appreciation to the benefits of a career in manufacturing.  Manufacturing careers provide competitive income, advanced benefits, skill development, flexible scheduling, and an enjoyable work environment. Our interns were able to learn about these, as well as the benefits available to them in our thriving and progressive community.  Harmony Enterprises prides itself on offering opportunities for professional growth and career advancement, all while focusing on our core purpose of Career, Community, and Culture. It is our hope that in providing these young adults training they will be able to be successful in their future endeavors, and possible remain to be active members of our greater community.

This year, Harmony Enterprises is fortunate to employ the services of five highly-skilled students in many areas of our workplace.  These departments include Front Office Payroll and Accounting, Engineering, Customer Service, Inventory and Parts, and Production.  In every area, the internships provided a mutually beneficial outcome for the participating students and for Harmony Enterprises.

Kendyl Bennett, Accounting

Kendyl is a second-year intern responsible for setting up an organized accounting system for Harmony Equipment Rental and keeping it up-to-date. She has also assisted with bookkeeping for Harmony Kids Learning Center, located adjacent to our main plant property.  When not doing these important jobs, Kendyl helps the accounting department with some of their daily data entry tasks and organizes inventory in the parts room.

Kendyl states, “I am very thankful for the experiences I have had through this internship. I have been able to apply what I learned in my first year of college to the workplace. I have learned about the many different areas of accounting and all of the steps that go into setting up a new system. I have gained confidence in myself and my ability to contribute. Another skill that has been polished by this experience is my ability to problem solve. When there is an issue, I like to get to the root of it so we are able to move forward positively. One quote I like to reflect on my experience is, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin, because I feel that I am very involved in the work that I am doing and have learned a lot from the people around me. This experience has proven that I have chosen the right career path for myself as I love what I do here at Harmony Enterprises.”

 

Sara Schultz, Customer Service

Sara began her role in Customer Service with data entry, which consisted of transferring information from one management software system into another CRM. With her work in touching cases, emailing techs for updates on work orders, relaying information to techs, and entering sales orders into our CRM, Sara learned a great deal about our balers, compactors, and our customer relationships.

Sara summarized her experience in a meaningful way by stating, “I have learned how important communication is here in the Customer Service department, not only between the customers, techs, and us; but also how important it is for each department to communicate with each other. Each department plays a key role in the process of getting the baler and compactors to the customers and it would not be possible if each department didn’t work together. Most importantly I have noticed how important team work is and how much of a team player everyone is in the Customer Service department. I am so glad I had the opportunity to work here at Harmony Enterprises this summer. A quote that best summarizes my overall experience here is, ‘Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.’ – Mattie Stepanek.”

Kiera Olson, Engineering

Kiera’s duties varied greatly, which allowed her to have a more wholistic view of the job description of an engineer. She began the summer with data entry and documentation, including updating manuals for every type of baler/compactor currently in production. She completed the online course on tips for using Inventor/Vault/AutoCAD, allowing her to have the knowledge necessary to approve prints already made, make my own prints from 3D assemblies, and construct 3D assemblies from 2D prints. She also learned  how to program different types of PLCs. She is currently finishing her internship with more data entry and documentation, by updating the materials list in Inventor for BOMs.

Kiera proudly says, “As an intern this summer, I have learned both important concepts and technical skills. Conceptually, through weekly meetings and frequent visits to the shop floor, I have learned the importance of not only working together inside your department, but also across the entire company as a whole. I also was able to witness the engineers continuously collaborating in many situations to fix the various problems the balers/compactors presented. On the other spectrum, I learned many technical skills, as well as the properties of different types of steel and the importance of choosing the correct type for a specific project. I have gained skills on different types of software, and I also learned the necessity for correct/specific word choice when updating the manuals for the balers/compactors.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to become an intern at Harmony Enterprises. The knowledge I have gained from the hardworking individuals around me in the office and from hands on experience on the shop floor will only prove to be a benefit and serve as an advantage to me throughout my career. It was a very positive experience and helped to give me a more wholistic view of engineering.”

 

Dawson Schmidt, Production and Parts Room

Dawson began his work at Harmony Enterprises as a school-to-work student from the Falcon Custom Products class at Fillmore Central High School.  Following graduation, Dawson was awarded a summer internship from the Harmony Area Community Foundation and Southeast Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

Dawson has worked as a machinist, learning to use different drilling methods on several types of calibrated pieces of equipment and unique parts.  He has also worked in the clean-up room, providing support to those who are responsible for making sure our products are clean, safe, and represent our highest standards of quality.

Finally, Dawson has spent the last part of his internship assisting with inventory and a re-organization of our parts room.  Dawson is appreciative of the skills he developed during his time at Harmony Enterprises.  “I learned the importance of getting up early, being on time, and taking instruction from qualified professionals.  These all helped me to not make mistakes and do quality work.”

 

Solomon Stellmaker, Parts Room

Solomon is a former Harmony area resident who now resides in Illinois.  Solomon joined us this summer to assist in the parts room with the cataloging, organization, and inventory of our many intricate parts.

In addition to learning this system, Solomon was also afforded the opportunity to learn how to assemble some of our vertical balers.  The understanding of these processes, and his willingness to work as part of a progressive team will serve him well in his adult life.

Solomon says, “My work at Harmony Enterprises has helped me to be responsible, and take my time in my work.  It has made me more efficient and thorough in a lot of the things I do.  I have a better balance of things in my life.”

Harmony Enterprises manufactures balers, compactors, and beverage extraction equipment for satisfied customers worldwide.  Not only do we believe in making the earth a better place for generations to come, we also understand the importance of investing in our youth, and providing essential training that will allow these individuals to be successful in any career path they choose.  If you would like to learn more about our internship programs, our products, or services, please call us at 800-568-2324 or Contact Us today!