Surface Solutions Group (SSG) and our sister company Orion Industries are obsessed with quality. Our work impacts the lives of real people – our customers, their customers, and ultimately the end users. We are engineering-focused – we solve problems from the root cause and invest in innovative technologies to continuously improve. We also invest in the growth of our team, including young manufacturing engineering careers.
Here are the stories of two young engineers who began as interns at SSG and Orion and were hired for full-time positions after graduation. Applying a continuous improvement mindset, one has recently moved into a challenging new leadership role.
Gordon Urquhart – Intern to Process Engineer
When Gordon Urquhart was a Sophomore at Bradley University, he began contacting companies in search of his first internship opportunity. One of these was Orion Industries. To his surprise and excitement, Orion offered him a summer internship. A plus of his new role was that he could make his daily three-mile commute via bicycle.
Impressed with this young engineer’s eagerness to learn and work hard, Dave Gasparik, director of engineering, invited Gordon to come back for a second internship after his Junior year, then a full time engineering position upon receiving his degree in Mechanical Engineering.
“During my internship, I led projects aimed at reducing material usage variance, helping to minimize scrap and improve efficiency. One of my most challenging and rewarding tasks involved designing a pneumatic clamping device, which put my engineering knowledge to the test,” says Gordon.
Other projects included using thermocouples to create thermal maps of the curing ovens in SSG and Orion. The project gave him the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and training on the inner workings of oven efficacy and how oven consistency affects coating finish and reduces scrap.
He has contributed to projects across multiple departments – from quality assurance to the lab – finding each new challenge both demanding and fulfilling. He used Autodesk Inventor to design new racks and fixtures for holding customers’ parts during the coating and curing process.
“More recently, I’ve been involved in Orion’s push toward automation, working with both collaborative and traditional industrial robots. This has included coordinating with international teams, such as Elektrisola (Orion and SSG’s parent company), to develop custom fixturing and gain a deeper understanding of global supply chains. With the support of the Orion team, mastering the complexities of the metal coating industry feels increasingly within reach,” he explained.
“I’m a proud Chicago native, and for the past three summers, I’ve biked to work – two years as an intern and one as a full-time engineer. That daily ride has been part of a rewarding journey with Orion and SSG.”
Byron Salvatierra – Intern to Engineering Roles to Production Manager
The power of networking helped Byron Salvatierra land his internship at Surface Solutions Group while completing his Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree from Northern Illinois University.
“My first project as an intern involved developing a paperless system to collect scrap and defect data from the production floor using tablets linked to a central database. After its success, I explored ways to visualize the data. I taught myself Microsoft Power BI and created dynamic, auto-refreshing reports that delivered real-time insights,” says Byron.
His ingenuity in creating the paperless reporting system was well received and earned him a full-time position as an IT systems engineer post-graduation, expanding the use of Power BI across multiple departments. He improved the accounting open order report and enhanced it with visualizations to highlight critical jobs and automate daily emails to management – significantly improving efficiency and reliability.
Byron’s skills led to his next role as a process engineer to support the company’s production growth goals, where he designed and tested custom fixturing for racking, masking, and spraying applications. He started with CAD models, creating 3D-printed prototypes, and collaborating closely with machinists to produce final, production-ready versions, and ensured that each fixture improved efficiency and repeatability on the production floor.
He also led process and equipment validations (IQ, OQ, PQ) to confirm compliance and performance standards, while developing clear, detailed work instructions for new systems. His drive to enhance efficiency extended to automation, where he programmed robots and transformed manual processes into streamlined, automated workflows.
“I got hands-on experience solving production challenges and spent time on the floor learning how to make workflows more efficient and reliable. I feel lucky to have grown at SSG, starting as an intern, then moving into systems engineer and process engineer roles, and now stepping into a production management role.”
In Byron’s new role as SSG production manager, he uses the relationships he’s built across departments to bring the right people and resources together. His technical background helps him spot and solve equipment or process bottlenecks, and his bilingual skills strengthen communication between the production floor, management, and support teams. “My goal is to help our teams, improve processes, and ensure we continue to consistently deliver high-quality coated products to our customers.”
“My journey at SSG shows how the company supports internal growth. With all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the years here, I know it will help me to continue growing as a production manager. At the same time, I understand that learning never stops, and I still need to develop new skills while refining the ones I already have.”
Supporting Young Manufacturing Engineering Careers
“Gordon and Byron are great examples of how curiosity and initiative can propel careers forward when the right environment supports them,” says Dave Gasparik, director of engineering. “At SSG and Orion, we take pride in investing in young manufacturing engineering careers and giving emerging engineers meaningful challenges that accelerate their growth.”
These stories demonstrate how a solid foundation, hands-on learning, and supportive mentorship can turn early engineering opportunities at SSG and Orion into long-term success.