Clariant Corporation

Chemical Engineer Intern

May 2022 • Louisville, KY

What I liked

At Clariant, I enjoyed the openness of everyone around me and the casual atmosphere provided by the company. I was able to connect with my co-workers and supervisors on a more personal level to where they understood my situation better in terms of my education. Additionally, Clariant provided me a position to where I could work with multiple departments of the industry every day. I was hired under the production side of the plant; however, I was able to work with R+D, Pilot, and the operators which showed me other avenues my career can take. Especially with the operators, I was able to see both sides of engineering: the planning with all the blueprints and meetings, and the application where the parts were installed and used in the daily processes. This fit perfectly with the classes I have taken at the time at college to where I could see how the material I learned in class applies to real-life industries.

What I wish was different

I wish the document filing was more organized as I found myself searching through the cloud for a certain document for a long time. This also applies to the main operating program Clariant uses as it is not operator friendly. It took me a while to understand how to navigate the program and - at the time of writing this review - I still do not understand everything the program does. To rectify this problem, my supervisors could create a basic manual to aid new co-ops/interns in this program as well as other common sites the engineers use. Another thing I wish was different was my role in more professional projects. At the beginning of my co-op, I was able to sit-in during meetings of other projects so that I could learn how the meetings are organized; however, as time went on, I was unable to join in on these meetings. So, I wish I could have more of an active role with bigger projects that Clariant is working on.

Advice

One piece of advice I have for future interns is to not to be scared in asking your co-workers for help if you do not know something. While your co-workers do expect you to have some knowledge on the industry due to your education, you are new to the company and need to learn how all the operations work. This does not only apply to engineers; the factory workers know how the systems work mechanically so ask them for a walk-through or ask them a question on the machines. Moreover, be sure to read through the previous co-ops notes or documents on the cloud. This will allow you to see how other people might approach the problem and give you on some ideas on how to improve the projects or systems. Chances are that the engineers will ask you to continue an existing project that a previous co-op student did not finish, so you should be able to learn how they ran the tests so you can correctly collect data for it.

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Engineering Co-op

May 2022 • Louisville, KY

What I liked

The aspect I liked most about my time here at Clariant are the workers and environment the company creates; specifically, how every worker from production, quality, engineering, etc. are always helpful and ready to answer any questions I might have. This community at Clariant allows me to understand a system and/or problem from multiple perspectives and gain new insight on an issue. In terms of my labor tasks, I enjoyed how I am provided different types of tasks so that I better understand the tasks of the engineers; for example, I receive long-term projects to which I am supposed to complete in a few weeks, weekly tasks I am supposed to finish by the end of the week, and daily tasks I am to finish by the end of the day. This work environment allows me to receive a broad perspective on my future responsibilities as an engineer in the chemical field. The community at Clariant allows me to gain further insight on my daily, weekly, and monthly projects from all aspects of production, quality, engineering, etc.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have spent more time learning the different aspects of the company such as quality control and testing in the company labs so I may understand other aspects of chemical engineering; specifically, there are many steps before a process reaches the engineering sect of this company and I never truly experienced those areas. I believed experiencing a process in its early test phases and working with it to finally witness it on the production floor would have been an amazing experience for myself and future co-ops. Furthermore, I wish I would have been exposed to a more hands-on assignments such as doing quality tests myself; for example, simple Loss On Ignition tests (LODs) or temperature tests would have been an interesting experience for me. I believe, however, all my wishes as stated in this paragraph will be alleviated by another co-op semester with this company.

Advice

Ask questions! As I stated in a previous paragraph, everyone at Clariant is willing and ready to answer questions about systems, processes, and issues that might arise. If I did not know an answer to a question or an issue arrived in one of my projects, then I would ask either the engineers or production crew for their input and how best to tackle the problem; however, do not ask a question without having a possible answer or solution. If you have a list of possible answers, then your employer will be impressed with your independence with problem solving. Furthermore, do not be afraid to introduce yourself to the production workers as the relationship between production and engineering is pivotal for the future of the company. This relationship builds connections and community for yourself as well as for the company. Do not be afraid to meet new people or building a relationship with other workers as that is how a company like Clariant works at their best.

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