Murdock Manufacturing Commemorates International Women in Engineering Day

Beth Willisis a Sales Engineer atJay R. Smith Mfg. Co.She has been with the company for over 43 years. Before moving to the Sales Engineering department, Beth spent many years honing her product knowledge in other departments, including Product Engineering. Eventually, she moved from Product Engineering to Sales Engineering, where she used her years of experience to help others understand the wide variety of items that Smith sells and the application of these products.

Beth says,"I enjoy helping our manufacturer's representatives, architects, engineers, contractors, and sometimes a residential homeowner with the specification and the application of the products they are inquiring about. Working closely with the architect or project engineer, we develop special items to meet a customer's specific job condition where no other product combination exists in the industry."

Ena Alvarengais an engineer for many of theMorris Group Internationaldivisions. She started out studying business law and working at a manufacturing company performing data entry. When an Industrial Engineering Technician position became available at the company, Ena applied for the job and was selected. Soon after, she changed her major to Industrial Engineering with a minor in Manufacturing and graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.

Ena says of her work for Morris Group International divisions,"One of my many favorite things about being an engineer is reducing production costs, increasing efficiency, improving product quality, and ensuring worker health and safety."Ena enjoys this aspect of the job so much that she continued her studies, earning a second bachelor’s degree in organizational management from the University of La Verne. Ena notes,"Organizational Management and Industrial Engineering complement each other…and give me the tools required to be an asset to Acorn Engineering [and] the family of companies."

Amanda McClaryhas always been interested in taking things apart and putting them back together. While completing her studies, she tried a few different design classes and found she enjoyed the engineering ones the most. Her interest in engineering also has a family component, as her grandfather was a mechanical engineer.

Amanda enjoys using design programs to create new products."One of the most fulfilling aspects is having the opportunity to create and innovate. We can design and build solutions that address real-world problems [and] improve existing technologies. Making a 3D model of something you thought up is pretty cool, and not many people can do that."