Martek Biosciences

Jonathan Waits (pictured below) is from Brandenburg, Kentucky and graduated from Meade County High School . He was a pioneer in the co-op program - one of the first UK students to co-op with Martek Biosystems in Winchester, Kentucky. Jonathan graduated with his degree in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering in December '05. http://www.bae.uky.edu/BAEHome.htm His experience in bioprocessing, while very positive, convinced him that his true love was with machinery. He was successful in acquiring a full-time position with AGCO Corporation, a world leader in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and distributing of agricultural equipment. Jonathan now makes his home in Hesston , Kansas. 

Pictured with Jonathan is Ashley Hood, a graduate of Estill County High School, one of our "poster engineers".  Ashley accepted an offer from Eastman Chemical in March 2007, three months ahead of her May '07 graduation date.

Emily Kilpatrick, experienced her first rotation with Martek in the summer/fall 2006. Emily is from Perrysville. OH. We will update this site as she completes her work semesters at Martek. Below is her report.

Martek Biosciences Corp.

Engineering and Technical Services

Winchester , KY

Emily Kilpatrick

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Summer, Fall 2006

Tour 1

Graduated from: Perrysburg High School , Perrysburg , OH

Company Information:

Martek Biosciences is known for the production of life's DHA(TM) a leading source of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The DHA produced by Martek is extracted from algae, making it vegetarian, a source free of the contaminants that limit consumption of fish, fish being the other major source of DHA. Infant formula is the major market for Martek's DHA, although it can also be found in dietary supplements and a few foods. Martek also produces and distributes the omega-6 fatty acid ARA (arachidonic acid) for use in infant formulas.

  Martek Biosciences Corporation is a publicly traded company, and Martek stock is listed on NASDAC. Martek stock reached an all time high around $70 per share in May of 2004. Over the past year the price of Martek stock has dropped. Since I began my rotation, the price took two major hits, one in September and another in October. The drop in the stock price, along with the factors responsible for this drop, led to a restructuring of the company on October 26, 2006. Since the restructuring, however, stock prices seem to be recovering, and in the final days of my rotation, Martek is the Forbes Stock of the Week.

Academic Preparation:

Going into my co-op, I was unsure of exactly what I would encounter. I knew that engineering required planning and paperwork along with technical skills, and I was prepared to attempt to apply some of the lean manufacturing principles that I had learned in Lean Bootcamp #1 . What I was not prepared for was the actual amount of planning, paperwork, and hoops that engineers need to jump through in order to have a project approved, let alone completed. The project budget approval process amazed me, as it was far more complicated than I had imagined. I completed my sophomore year in Spring '06 - and thus had finished my calculus, physics, chemistry, a statics course, three introductory BAE classes, and the lean bootcamp (May '06). Seeing, first hand how a conventional company worked was a real eye-opener.

Examples of work completed:

  Over the course of my rotation I took part in many projects. One of my first was writing an installation and operations qualification for a storage freezer that would hold one of the new product oils. I helped design tests to determine if it functioned correctly, and wrote the report summarizing our findings. I began to work with AutoCAD and completed an assortment of drawings for the Pilot Plant lock-out tag-out process development and for potential modifications to several plant processes. Throughout my rotation, I collected data from the deodorizer process to be used by a task force assigned to that area. I also completed a small cleaning study for the RBD area of the plant, which will hopefully improve the quality of the oil coming through the department. Then, I spent a week at the extraction plant as a ‘fire watch' during their maintenance shut down and learned about hot work permits and the processes that occurred in the extraction plant.

  For Paul Kelley I performed a detailed cost study a product that is processed in the Netherlands . My assignment was to find the "real" cost of the product, not what it had been estimated. I was able to make contacts around the company while poking around for information, and compiled some costs that had not been accurately considered before. Working with accounting was also amazing because there is a great deal of complicated rules involved in calculating costs throughout a company.

  I also did a project for the Director of Materials collecting a large amount of paperwork from archived records. I then compiled and worked with several venders to ensure that my collection was complete. Then I spent a week as an operator in the Packaging Department, and another week in the Warehouse.

  In my last week at Martek, I was able to write a report about my knowledge of lean manufacturing and my recommendations for its application at Martek. After having spent two weeks on the floor, I had a lot of suggestions for those areas as well as a few for their overall process. I gave an informal presentation of ideas to the plant manager and several of the directors, and my ideas were all very well received.

  Probably my favorite day of my rotation was when I spent the day in the pilot plant area working with the product development team. They had gotten some new equipment and were preparing for their first trial. I was able to be there while the Rabi Kosherized the equipment in the morning, and stayed with the trial until the end of the day, when we were able to try some of the finished product. A few days later they repeated the process for a potential customer, and although I was unable to attend, it was a very exciting process.

A typical day:

  For me, a typical work day required me to wake up at 6:15 am. I quickly got ready and hopped in my car for my 40 minute commute from Lexington . I clocked in by 7:30, checking my e-mail first thing in the morning. Before the layoff, I would check in with Kristyn, the engineer I worked with the most. Then I would either go back to my desk or follow her into the plant to pursue a project. I generally worked at my desk until lunch, and took a half hour for lunch, and then resumed work on my projects. At the end of the day I would go collect my data from the deodorizer, and on slow days I would spend an hour or so exploring the plant or observing in RBD. I then clocked out around 4:00 pm and commuted back to Lexington (it always took longer to get back than it did to get there). Occasionally, when I had spent a lot of time in the plant, I changed before I got into my car to prevent the Martek smell from permeating it. Mondays, I had sorority meeting at 6:30, Tuesdays and Thursdays I had class at 6. I did my best to be in bed each night by 11 pm, but it was challenging with my roommates and friends still on "college time".

Reflections:

The mechanical prowess required to be a successful project engineer has actually made me rethink my career aspirations a little bit. I confirmed that my interests lie more with products, processes and people than in the equipment. A career sizing valves, pipes, and pumps is probably not for me. However, I enjoyed the time I spent with the operators on the floor developing ideas for improving their processes and increasing the motion economy of the tasks I was performing. Unfortunately, my time on the floor was at the end of my rotation instead of the beginning, so I will be leaving the execution of many of my findings to the other engineers. Being on the floor as an operator has made me even more excited about opportunities in lean manufacturing and pursuing a graduate degree in it.

  If I were given the opportunity to begin my co-op session again, I would have taken notes during the first few days when I was introduced to everyone. I am terrible with names, and it took almost my entire term to put everyone's face with a name. Luckily, in the plant everyone had their name on their hard hat, which was amazingly helpful. I also would have asked to be sent onto the floor at the beginning of my term, because at the end of my term it really helped me get a feel for the processes and where improvements could be made. It amazes me how anyone can expect to "improve" a process without actually doing it, but it seems to be a common situation.

 Another thing I learned during my rotation was the importance of personal relationships in one's ability to complete projects. As I received more projects and got to know several people in the department, it became progressively easier to obtain information. I had not anticipated that relationships would have such tremendous effects on the success or failure of projects. Overall, everyone at Martek was very kind and helpful. The people in the maintenance department and in operations were particularly easy to get along with. Although I was passed around a lot my last few weeks, I was able to get to know a lot of the operations and support staff that otherwise I may never have met. As I had mentioned before, I really wish I had worked the floor at the beginning of my rotation instead of the end, as it greatly enhanced my network at the plant.

  The reduction in force that occurred in October was a major learning experience during my rotation. I was able to experience firsthand the uncertainty and confusion surrounding a layoff. It was extremely sudden, and took almost everyone by surprise. I was allowed to stay on to finish my rotation and was able to witness the bonding that occurred among the people who were left, as well as several phases of reorganization within the engineering department. The emotional toil experienced by the employees at Martek has also pushed me further into pursuing a career at a lean company where, at least in theory, something like this would not happen. It also showed that the corporate world can be ruthless, as employees from director level to grounds keeping were involved in the reduction.

The semester has been a good, hard look into the working world, and I can't say I'm disappointed to just be a student again.