KTH Welcomes 2 Interns with Signing Ceremony

From left are Ashley Cook, CEP business liaison; Steve Braun, senior staff engineer in ESG-Weld at KTH; interns Dylon Bernardi and William Boggs; Todd Dyke, manager of the ESG-Weld group at KTH; Brittany Wead of the KTH Associate Relations staff; and Sarah Perkins, Adecco.

Two recent Triad High School graduates signed internship agreements at KTH Parts Industries Inc. in a ceremony coordinated by the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP), KTH and the Adecco staffing agency.

Dylon Bernardi and William Boggs, who completed Ohio Hi-Point Career Center’s Advanced Manufacturing Program at Triad, will be interning in KTH’s Equipment Support Group (ESG). They will be employed by Adecco during the internship with the possibility of working full time for KTH following their internships, said Brittany Wead of the KTH Associate Relations staff.

She added that KTH has about 900 full-time associates, 130 of them “retirement eligible.”

The ESG team oversees the maintenance of KTH’s 1,100 robots and troubleshooting of mechanical and electrical issues.

Bernardi and Boggs are the first interns that KTH has assigned to work in the ESG department, though the company has had engineering internships for several years, Wead said.

In the Advanced Manufacturing Program at Triad, both interns completed classes in robotics, CNC, manufacturing operations and advanced manufacturing. Their Advanced Manufacturing teacher, Todd Bodey, made them aware of the internship opportunity at KTH.

“I’m not sure where this will take me,” Boggs said, “but the robotics will be very interesting. I’m looking forward to working with everyone here.”

Bernardi said he also is looking forward to working with the ESG team. “I love problem solving.”

The CEP has coordinated other job signing ceremonies for graduates and students at ORBIS, Bundy Baking Solutions and Rittal. The events, patterned after signing ceremonies that colleges conduct for new student athletes, are part of the CEP’s workforce development initiatives.

The CEP has been partnering with employers and local schools to better inform students about local employment opportunities and to help schools prepare students for the local workforce.
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KTH Parts Industries Inc. makes underbody structural frame components for cars and is Champaign County’s largest manufacturing employer. KTH is a Tier 1 supplier of automotive components worldwide.