{"516291":{"#nid":"516291","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Electrical engineer finds decades-long fulfillment, challenge, and success at Johns Creek firm","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInitially, the move to Atlanta was only going to be a temporary one. But upon graduating in 1983 from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering, Scott Means accepted a position with Nordson Corp. in Johns Creek.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than three decades later, Means has found career advancement, fulfillment, and professional growth at Nordson, where he is currently a product manager.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was drawn to the size of the company,\u201d he said of his decision to join Nordson after graduate school. \u201cIt was exciting to me that I could get involved in separate areas of the company, wear many different hats, and have a lot of impact, immediately.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeans, who has been awarded five design patents at Nordson, is the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership\u2019s (GaMEP) March Face of Manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EManufacturing is second only to agriculture in terms of its impact on the Georgia economy. The sector, comprised of about 10,000 manufacturers, employs more than 365,000 and has a total economic manufacturing output of $53 billion per year. Means\u2019 story and that of others in GaMEP\u2019s \u201cFaces\u201d series, shows just how important the industry is \u2014 not only to the state as a whole, but also in the difference it makes in local communities and the lives of people who work in manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Nordson \u2014 a global manufacturer of dispensing equipment for consumer and industrial adhesives, sealants, and coatings \u2014 Means has held a number of different positions within the company, created new teams, and led departments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI get bored easily, so I knew I wanted to work at a company where I could get my hands on many different projects,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of his first projects was to help develop an electrical engineering department. Though Nordson had a deep well of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers were a rarity. In fact, he was often referred to as \u201cEE No. 3\u201d because \u201cI was the third electrical engineer hired at the company and I was able to help develop the department from the ground up.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFour years after working to build the department, which was the supporting group for Nordson\u2019s corporate offices and its other divisions, Means was tasked with leading the team. The team hit an important milestone when it fully developed its own control system \u2014 the Model 2300 \u2014 that Nordson was able to implement. \u201cThe Model 2300 allowed us to showcase our design capabilities, and we\u2019ve been developing complete control systems in the electrical engineering group ever since.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing that success, Means was tapped to build a new electrical team to serve an entirely new market the company began pursuing, non-woven applications. \u201cI learned a lot from starting a team, and it was energizing to be part of a new business venture that combined the disciplines of engineering, marketing, design, and research,\u201d Means said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter successfully building out the team, Means went back to the electrical engineering group. By then, his old group had grown to the point where there were as many electrical engineers as there were mechanical engineers in the company. Means also reached out to his alma mater and began to hire Georgia Tech students in Nordson\u2019s co-op program, creating a talent pipeline between the Institute and the company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, as product manager, he gets to mix his business skills and technical expertise, which serves him well when meeting the company\u2019s global clients. He also continues to work in design engineering in the development of new ideas and innovations for the company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs someone who thrives on new challenges, Means has bucked the prevailing trend of Americans in the workforce leaving one employer to obtain career advancement at another company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe notion of doing something new or different or having to learn is exciting to me,\u201d Means said. \u201cI just never imagined I could find all of that at one company.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2014 P\u00e9ralte C. Paul\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Faces of Manufacturing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach month, GaMEP will highlight a different person as the Face of Manufacturing. Those chosen as the Face of Manufacturing will be selected by a 12-member-committee composed of representatives from Georgia Tech, economic development groups, manufacturing companies, and related associations. For more information, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Each month the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership profiles Georgians who play a critical role in the industry."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2016-03-22 12:06:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:09","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-03-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"516301":{"id":"516301","type":"image","title":"Scott Means, March 2016 Face of Manufacturing","body":null,"created":"1458923959","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:39:19","changed":"1475895280","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:40","alt":"Scott Means, March 2016 Face of Manufacturing","file":{"fid":"205140","name":"dsc_0737.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0737_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0737_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1805391,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0737_0.jpg?itok=yE51Te4m"}}},"media_ids":["516301"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\/portfolio\/scott-means\/","title":"Faces of Manufacturing"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"121581","name":"Faces of Manufacturing"},{"id":"16331","name":"GaMEP"},{"id":"170047","name":"Nordson Corp."},{"id":"170048","name":"Scott Means"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor media inquiries, contact:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELaura Diamond\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.894.6016\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor inquiries about the GaMEP, contact:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKatie Takacs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.0542\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:katie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekatie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}