Virtual Event | Manufacturing Gives Pennex Leaders ‘a Sense of Pride’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — For the last 28 years, manufacturing has given Mike Lastic plenty of opportunity.

The general manager at Pennex Aluminum Co. worked in the automotive industry and a few others before coming to Pennex in Leetonia six years ago. Over that time, his career in a global industry like manufacturing has allowed him to do “quite a bit of traveling” throughout the world to visit other plants and areas.

But it’s the work he enjoys most.

“You get to make things and you get to see things produced and made, and then those things go out into the world,” Lastic said. “It’s exciting to see that.”

Lastic was joined by Chuck Stout, president, during a Brain Gain Navigators webinar Tuesday. Brain Gain Navigators is a virtual career exploration program hosted by The Business Journal in partnership with Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley and the ESC of Eastern Ohio. Watch the video above for the complete recorded webinar.

Making a product and seeing it out in the real world is one of the cool reasons to get into manufacturing, Stout agreed. Many of the parts Pennex produces are very technical and precise, which can be a challenge to complete, so “it gives you a sense of pride,” he says.

Some of Pennex’s customers include automobile manufacturers in the electric vehicle space, he said. During an open house, they had some sample vehicles on-hand.

“It’s kind of neat to actually look at the vehicle and we can show you where the part goes,” he said.

Watch this and other Brain Gain Navigators videos at BusinessJournalDaily.com/brain-gain-navigators. A feature article with feedback from students who participated in the webinar will be published in the July edition of The Business Journal.

Classrooms and after-school programs interested in registering for future Brain Gain Navigators events can do so by clicking HERE.

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