Hi everyone. Love it or hate it, this week in MN we had the first snowfall of the year! The above picture was taken on Monday at the MinnWest Technology Campus in front of the NTE Customer Service Building earlier this week but today most of the snow is already melting and we can see the green grass again in December! What does it look like outside where you are? Feel free to send Mike your creative photos to post in a future update!
Nova-Tech China (NTC) Welcomes Guests from Around the World
With the completion of its new offices this last fall, NTC is in a position to welcome customers and partners from around the world to help support its growing business. Most recently, NTC welcomed a fellow NTE employee to its offices in Suzhou China to tackle an ever growing inventory of parts for refurbishment. As is many things in China the company is limited in its ability to send these parts back to the Willmar office for repair and re-export. However NTE is still in a position to keep the supply chain running by sending talented refurbishing technicians to aid in electronic and mechanical repairs. For Joel’s first time and the third trip for the company since it started, Mr. Joel Carlson, grabbed his passport and visa and made the 28 hour trip (door-to-door) from NTE to NTC.
During Joel’s stay he was able to refurbish a large number of modules to be reused by the China customer base and keep the more than 120 PSP’s running daily. He was also fortunate enough to witness some of the first In-House Customer Training Sessions in the newly finished NTC training Department. NTC uses these facilities to host customers from all over Asia and progress them through the levels of Nova-Tech’s comprehensive training program. They are also looking forward to hosting their first Asian Poultry Conference this coming spring.
A very busy week at NTC, Joel was also able to assist in the receiving of NTC’s 12th Ocean container full of PSP’s.
But we can’t work Joel too hard or he may not be willing to come back. He was able to take one of his last days of the trip to do a little sightseeing around Suzhou.
A huge thanks to Joel and the other NTE team members outside of the Sales and Marketing Dept (Brendan Smith, Taylor Cooper, and Troy Miller) for making these grueling trips, dealing with time changes, long work days, and unrelenting traffic to come and aid in the success of NTC.
P.S. Next time we will include pictures of them enjoying a feast of Chicken Feet, Duck Tongue, Duck Blood, and Pig stomach….mmmmmmmmm!
– Aaron Madsen
2015 STEM Student Winner
The MinnWest Technology Campus picked their 2015 STEM student winner! Emily Walz won and she is giving her $1,000 award to the KMS Schools for their High Tech and Engineering Classes. MinnWest has been doing the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program since October 2014. By honoring a STEM student of the month, young people (our future workforce) are encouraged that their interests in STEM disciplines can be a potential career for them. Each month a nominee is chosen and they are acknowledged on the radio with a short interview. The 2015 STEM Student winner is chosen out of the 12 original winners and awarded a grand prize to go to the school of their choosing.
Next year MinnWest is changing things up a bit by promoting students who excel in STEM as well as teachers who promote and excel in teaching STEM disciplines. Click here to learn more.
New Onboarding Program Pilot
Rick Vanderspek and the Organizational Development team are working together to pilot a more extensive onboarding process for new potential leaders.
Here is a word from Rick about the program:
We are pleased to have Matt Baumgartner join our company as a Management Trainee. It says a lot when a spouse of someone who is already on our team chooses to join our companies. I hope it reflects an emerging consensus that we truly are making progress towards the culture we strive for… so Jenn, thank you for not dissuading Matt from placing his faith in our company.
When Matt and I discussed this career opportunity, I described my desire that he start with a few months of extensive orientation to get to know the industry, our team and the variety of businesses across our group of companies. This time will prepare him for his eventual assignment; whether that ends up with the Ag Sector or one of our affiliates. The objective is to give each of you who will interact with Matt during this process a chance to educate him about how your role impacts the organization and what is important to you. Katie is helping me blaze this “new trail” and hopefully each of you is excited to not only watch how this concept unfolds but to do your part in welcoming Matt.
Through this pilot, our goal is to establish a template that can be customized for affiliates and for critical positions that we fill going forward. This process will accelerate learning who we are and how our group of companies are interconnected. And, of course, it will provide exposure to all the cool things we do around here!
Employee Announcements
Congratulations
to Dave and Tracy Dykshoorn on the adoption of Milana Jantina Dykshoorn. Milana was born on April, 14th 2015 and adopted on November, 25th. Milana is welcomed by her siblings Kamryan, Silas & Alexis. Dave is a Business System Supervisor at Nova-Tech Engineering.
to Kristi and Ryan Degree on the birth of their son Landon Douglas DeGree. Landon was born on November 25th. Kristi is a Corporate Training and PR specialist here at LSI.
to Jeanna and Jared O’Neil on the adoption of their daughter Elaina Grace O’Neill. Elaina was born on November 24, 2015 and joined their family on November 25th. Jeanna is a Human Resources Generalist at LSI.
HR/Employee Services
The Human Resources/Employee Services Team specializes in benefits and payroll, compliance and policy, employee relations, ag-recruiting, legal compliance, and company & employee overall well-being. We are located on the first floor of Life-Science Innovations on the MinnWest campus at 1800 Technology Drive. We look forward to working with you!
Please message us via email at employee.services@life-scienceinnovations.com or give us a call at
320.222.9515 or 888.320.9750 extension 2515
Recruiting Corner
Hello from Michelle Falling, MN Affiliates Recruiting Specialist
The best way to apply or inquire about opportunities is through the Employment Page on our website. It’s updated at least once a week! We have some critical need hires so if you know of someone that is a potential fit and is considering a change before or after the holiday season, please encourage them to apply or inquire today!
You are welcome to contact me with any questions you have regarding the new opportunities posted or if you want to talk through your career goals here at michelle.falling@life-scienceinnovations.com | or just give me a call at O: (320) 222-9790 M: (320) 441-8596. Thanks for trusting me to help you through the process!
Openings
Current status of all organizational openings.
Welcome New Employees
Matthew Baumgartner
Management Trainee
Pay Pay
Carlos Tamez
Gay Moo
Paw Moo
Lineworker
Brenda Velazquez Paneda
QA QC Tech
Turkey Recipes & Tips!
With the cold season in full swing here is a healthy, warm comfort food that uses ground turkey.
Turkey-Barely Vegetable Soup
Employee Count
As of 12/04/15 we have 1640 employees
