Los Angeles: Glenair

And the award goes to day 3 in LA… It has been an adventure being able to visit Capitol Records and Trader Joe’s. Today was a long day, but full of adventures and excitement. The Ramble had the pleasure to visit Glenair, where we not only learned about their business and how they operate but we were able to connect with Stephen Sweeney, a member of the Quinlan Board of Advisors, as well as Barry, Brian and Lisa, all Glenair Vice Presidents & Directors. The moment we arrived Glenair you could feel that sense of belonging. They were kind enough to provide us with a delicious lunch while they were presenting to us what their business is all about.

After the presentation we had the opportunity to tour around the company. Glenair is a big company with a lot of buildings interconnected. We learned the different functions in each department from the pressure room, to engineering/design, operations and assembly. I was able to see how the DaVinci surgical system works and that Glenair manufactures some of their plugs and parts that are connected to this robot.

At Glenair I learned a lot more about the manufacturing process from the aerospace and military perspective. I learned that those tiny parts they made are very expensive, but are not made for simple utilization; however, these are made for the purpose to support high levels of electricity and extreme temperature. A simple connector can cost up to $500 each, however, the benefit and reputation is incredible and worth the price. Additionally, all parts are made in-house and their inventory is huge. With that being said, this allows Glenair to have orders ready for customers at any time and utilize their equipment as well as raw materials correctly.

Being at Glenair today remind me of my good old days on the manufacturing floor. I felt like a kid in a candy shop! I was excited to get to know their logistics and their operations as well as their compliance department. Even though I am not a Supply Chain Management student, my experience in the manufacturing industry helped me to understand and to be more proactive about the visit. I was beyond pleased about today’s site visit and even though our trip is almost over I can’t wait to see what CBS, LA Times, Accenture and Los Angeles World Airports have prepared for us. Go Ramblers!

 

Maria Pimentel (BBA '20)
Management, Human Resources Management