Smart companies know the value of good people. One way to attract top talent and differentiate your business at the same time is to add one of the students coming out of the Virginia Tech packaging program that is developing in conjunction with Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design (CPULD). Known for years as the preeminent pallet and container research laboratory in the country, the CPULD currently places students in summer internships around the country. More than do basic chores, these young professionals bring a wide variety of skills, having worked alongside sharp packaging and wood science minds.
The developing Virginia Tech packaging program has about forty students this year and is growing. Currently, the CPULD has fourteen students who have worked in the lab with five of them highly trained as members of the new Sustainable Packaging Designer Trainee program. The participants in this special program include: junior Cyrus Adibpour of Fairfax, Va.; junior Page Clayton of Exmore, Va.; junior Michael Fortunato of Cockeysville, Md.; sophomore Richard Good of Dinwiddie, Va.; and first-year student Megan Stallings of Blacksburg, Va.
If you want to snatch up one of these bright young minds for the summer, you should consider contacting the CPULD quickly before another company does.
From technical experts to packaging designers to sales staff, these students can help almost any pallet company that wants to do more than just compete on price.
One way to test the future with minimal upfront commitment is to hire a student or recent graduate for a paid summer internship. You can hire an intern for the summer at a minimal cost and see just how much it could help your operation. Interns can tackle specific projects, such as plant optimization and lean business strategies, improving product design and packaging for customers, revamping sales literature and technical communications to customers, etc.
To find out more information about available students and skill sets, contact Laszlo Horvath, the CPULD director at lhorvat@vt.edu. Or you can list an available job or internship with the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials by contacting Angela Riegel at ariegel@vt.edu or calling 540/231-7107. Usually it is best to interview and begin looking for interns in the winter.
