Jon Haglin

Greetings all. I’m happy to share about my experience at Ridgewater College – Hutchinson campus and beyond. Following a lay-off from HTI in June of 2011, I was offered retraining through MN Workforce Development Center. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and minor in Physics, the Automation & Robotics Systems was a very good fit. Bob Lea and the college provided an excellent foundation into the controls automation industry.

Following graduation, I quickly secured work with a systems integrator that manufactured equipment for dairy processing…specifically cheese! For 6.5 years, I was with APT Inc. and enjoyed the challenges of controls automation. What I notices while there was the difficulty to find qualified candidates with a controls background. Even most plants I was in would ask if we knew anyone with controls experience that might be looking for a job.

In late 2018, I decided there might be a better way to have a bigger impact on the industry. So I decided to step away and enter the classroom. Since January of 2019, I have been at Northwood Technical College in New Richmond, WI sharing my experiences and the material related to process control automation.

This opportunity has brought me tremendous gratification, knowing the impact this college and I have on the students. I have also been able to network with manufacturing companies in eastern MN and western WI to help the students make connections.

From Ridgewater College to sharing with the Governor of WI about automation…the journey has been fantastic!!!