Accelerating Careers

Oct. 2, 2024 – When Julio Gutierrez walked in the doors of Mayday Manufacturing in 2020, he didn’t have much experience with CNC machining.

His start at the North Texas company was on the processing side of the business, where he chemically treated parts in a process known as anodizing.

Yet, he always had a desire to move over to the machining side.

“Growing up as a kid, I played with LEGOs,” he said. “I always put stuff together, so I was always interested in how machines fabricate parts and how the parts connect together to a bigger piece.”

During his previous tenure as a University of North Texas (UNT) engineering student, he had a few interactions with CNC machining – but not nearly to the degree he wanted.

Working at Mayday meant an opportunity for Gutierrez to make his dreams come true. But he knew it would take work to get there.

Fortunately for him, his work ethic carried him far – and fast.

“He moved pretty quickly through the anodizing ranks,” said Craig Barhorst, director of operations. “In nine months, he reached the top level.”

That’s when Gutierrez was sent to an ACE CNC machining bootcamp at UNT, along with a cohort of others.

The decision was in line with a new direction the company had taken – that is, looking more internally to fill positions as they became available.

Gutierrez’ cohort was the latest of about 20 employees paid to get the training. The practice of sending cohorts through ACE is a key part of Mayday’s effort to invest internally.

“We’ve transitioned into developing and growing our own machinists,” said Barhorst. “People that show a good work ethic get opportunities to start training as CNC machinists. What ACE has done for us is give a leg-up to their training and accelerate their exposure. We see it as beneficial for our new machinists or those who show promise to become machinists.”

Gutierrez fitted that description to a tee – and made the most of the camp when he went.

“The best part for me was learning to use Fusion and being able to use different tooling in the program,” he said. “ACE helped me understand how to manage different processes and how everything comes together.”

The thing is, Gutierrez’ ambition didn’t stop there.

Just as he moved quickly through the anodize ranks, he also started to move fast through the machining ranks – similar to other Mayday ACE alumni.

Those who’ve gone through ACE “differentiate themselves from others,” Barhorst says, as they seek to move into higher-level positions within Mayday.

Those advancements also come with an increase in pay.

“They get to advance much faster and go from that $16-17 per hour to low-20s pretty quickly,” he said.

Gutierrez now works as a level three grind and hone operator. The foundation that started with ACE has led him to be a leader at Mayday.

“We just implemented two new CNC hones,” said Barhorst. “He’s been a big part of that and writing the instruction manual and helping to train the other operators.”

“I try to make others have an easier time,” said Gutierrez. “Everyone learns differently, and I try to implement what I know in different forms so that everyone can achieve the same goals.”

When Gutierrez reflects on what got him to his unofficial secondary role as teacher today, he credits the investment of Mayday into his training as a critical factor.

“Our culture is very important to us,” said Barhorst. “It’s easy to ask of things from employees. But you also have to show you’re willing to invest in them.”

For Mayday, that investment doesn’t end with ACE. In fact, because of the success of the ACE partnership with UNT, they’ve started a customized, seven-week program to further develop their machinists.

“What we started with ACE is now fructifying in different ways,” said Dr. Hector Siller, UNT professor and ACE program lead. “We’re offering a custom program to Mayday to train their employees on the use of turning centers and the interpretation of their engineering drawings.”

“We’re in the middle of our very first cohort,” said Barhorst. “Many of these that are going through this have also gone through ACE.”

It’s another step in the long road of the collaboration that started years ago. But without that first step of ACE, Barhorst says they wouldn’t be where they are today.

“Without ACE being the driver to get us hooked up with Dr. Siller, we wouldn’t have this in place,” said Barhorst.

The plan is to continue ACE training alongside the custom program. Barhorst sees Gutierrez as a model for those who want to go through these trainings and advance their careers.

“He’s somebody that wants to keep learning and growing,” said Barhorst.

For Gutierrez, he takes that sentiment and builds upon it, saying it’s a personal matter for him.

“I always want to build myself and be better for those around me,” said Gutierrez.

Start building yourself now. Register for ACE training here.