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My name is Roy Lafromboise
and I run a turret punch press for Pioneer Industries and...
just punch holes in metal, (laughs).
What my job entails is making components for different customers.
In order for me to make these parts, I have to set the machine up,
I have to put in the correct tooling and with the correct die clearance
on what I'm going to be running.
And then I have to download the program.
I have to make the adjustment to the program at the machine.
And then actually punching out a finished part
When it goes to press brake, they'll go ahead and put their bends in it,
and then we basically paint it and send it to our customer with the finished product.
I got involved in this back in 1990.
I was working, uh, fast food and a friend of mine offered me a job
and slowly worked my way up from the bottom
to running the machine I run today which is a turret punch press.
Bascially everything I've learned has been all on the job.
Right now, I'm working on my GED and
being in the apprenticeship program where at the end of a four-year deal
that I can get my journeyman's card.
Education is pretty important because the math skills that it takes to operate
these machines, we deal with precise measurement.
What makes this work exciting to me is the opportunity to do new parts
and to learn new techniques.
For anybody that's looking to get into this, it takes
a really strong work ethic because you always got be moving.
If you like to learn new things and challenge yourself, this is definitely a way to go.
Without sheet metal in my life today, I know that, uh, I probably wouldn't have anything else going.
I really love what I do and I'm glad and grateful that I got the opportunity to do what I do here.