Every spring, summer, and fall, Tindall welcomes co-ops, students from universities and colleges, who spend a semester with us learning more about the precast, prestressed concrete industry. These students give Tindall the opportunity to invest and develop in next-generation innovators as they gain real-world experience working alongside engineers, project managers, production supervisors, plant managers, and countless other employees.
From the start, co-ops see their academic experience come to life as they learn every aspect of project completion before they head out into their career. At Tindall, co-ops learn more than process. They learn about Tindall’s commitment to service, performance, innovation, and expertise.
Tindall co-ops contribute with their abundant enthusiasm, energy, and fresh perspectives.
In spring 2022, Hunter Maples joined us for his third and final rotation with our Georgia location. Check out Hunter’s take on his experience as a Tindall co-op below.
Q. What university do you attend?
A. Clemson University
Q. What’s your major and how long have you been at college?
A. My major is industrial engineering, and I have been in college since 2019.
Q. When did you start with Tindall?
A. I started with Tindall in the spring of 2021. [Doing rotations spring 2021, summer 2021, and finishing out the final rotation in spring 2022.]
Q. What’s your favorite part of the co-op experience so far?
A. My favorite part of the co-op experience so far has been being able to learn a lot about an industry that I did not know much about before I started. I got to learn from many different people and got to experience new and exciting things in manufacturing.
Q. What have you learned that most interested you? That most surprised you?
A. The most interesting thing that I have learned since starting my co-op is how much of a role industrial engineers can take in a company. Especially at Tindall, industrial engineers take on many roles that support and improve the manufacturing plant. One day you can be testing new ways to create product and the next you can be designing a new process for recording deficiencies. Every day is another opportunity to learn something new and widen your knowledge.
Q. What projects have you worked on so far? What did you contribute?
A. Very early on in my co-op, I got to take on the implementation and development of our paperless QC program in the Georgia division. I tested new features, provided feedback to the developer, and trained the QC techs on how to best use the programs. I was given a lot of responsibility through this project very early on, and I believe that it added to my success in other projects throughout my time at Tindall.
Q. How is learning as a co-op different than learning at school? Do you find the different context beneficial?
A. As a co-op, you get to see firsthand how the topics you learn in the classroom translate to a real manufacturing environment. You learn all about the different process improvement possibilities in class but seeing them in a real plant gives you a deeper understanding of them. Drawing connections from previous semesters’ content to the real world of a company is so beneficial to driving home concepts and learning how to implement the things you learn about in class.
Q. What advice would you give a student interested in being a co-op, either at Tindall or elsewhere?
A. I would advise students interested in being a co-op at Tindall or at any company to be as open to learning and trying new things as you can possibly be. You have the opportunity to learn as much as you can about an industry and, at Tindall especially, you have so many people willing to help you do your job. These people are essential to your success, and you should learn as much as you can from them in order to do your work effectively.
Is innovation in your future?
Want to learn in a hands-on, real-world environment? Want to contribute to the industry in a meaningful way? Tindall offers co-op opportunities that make classroom learning come to life and gives co-ops experience alongside in-house engineers, a robust research and development team, and six facilities in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Tindall’s co-op mentors are some of the best in the industry and are committed to investing their time and expertise in creating next-generation innovators. As a Tindall co-op, you will have the opportunity to collaborate, work as an integral part of our team, and gain experience as we work together to lead in precast building systems.
Tindall is always searching for the best. If you share that goal, connect with us during a job fair at your college or university, or check out our CAREERS PAGE where we post open positions for all our locations at the beginning of each semester.
