Old School Practices make MPM a great choice for student placements

10th April 2019

Alex Weeks, First Year Product Design student at Bangor University writes about his experience at MPM

As part of my Product Design University course, I had to find a company to work at for a brief 2-month placement to be able to gain industrial experience as well as to get my foot in the manufacturing sector. As my time here at MPM is coming to an end, I think it is safe to say that I have definitely developed as both a product designer as well as a person and that I couldn’t have picked a better place for my first taste within the manufacturing sector.

Coming into this placement, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I obviously had some ideas of what I wanted to develop, but GRP and fibreglass manufacturing was an area which I hadn’t researched/looked into, so I was also hoping to gain a better understanding of what it is like within this area of the manufacturing sector.

One thing entering this placement that I was wanting to develop was my CAD (Computer-aided design). An area of my course that I already enjoyed, I wanted to see if I could push myself further within CAD to be able to produce higher-quality models/products. Looking back, I can confidently say that I have developed within CAD, and the main person to thank for this is Elliott (MPMs Business Development Leader). With a detailed knowledge of CAD, Elliott was able to repeatedly challenge me to make sure that I was making the highest quality models I could.

Another thing I wanted to gain from this placement was a good understanding of how a manufacturing company runs in terms of internal and external communication, production and management/leadership. Through interviews, observations and general conversations with workers, I can say I have learnt a lot about how a successful company operates and how it can maintain this level of high quality and success.

What stands out for me at MPM is their ‘old school’ attitude. No matter how busy and occupied they are, Ben (The MD), and the team somehow manage to maintain a great personal relationship with each company, a rarity nowadays. Making each client feel important and maintaining a great personal relationship is an excellent trait, something which I want to learn in the future.

I can confidently say I made the right choice by choosing MPM as my first work experience. Being able to work within a cohesive, dedicated and friendly company has made this placement a lot more enjoyable than I initially thought. Being part of a workplace, which mixes both personal and professional so well is truly unique.

Alex Weeks, First Year Product Design student at Bangor University

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