TMA MSSC Certification Courses Pay Dividends for Business Major

In the summer of 2010, Zach Balcunas, equipped with a business communications degree from Arizona State, began job searching. Before long, the Darien native, found himself applying for an assistant manager position at Abet Industries, Corp., a company in La Grange that specializes in electrical discharge machining. Though Balcunas did not have the formal training required for the position, TMA treasurer and the company’s vice president of sales, Zach Mottl, wasn’t worried. Instead, he turned to TMA for the best and quickest course of action.

TMA’s MSSC certification courses turned out to be exactly what was needed. Four extensive courses covering Safety Awareness, Maintenance Awareness, Manufacturing Processes and Production, and Quality Practices and Measurement provided the framework for Balcunas to succeed in manufacturing.

“I do a little of everything, so these courses helped cross-train me as an employee,” Balcunas said. “Since I didn’t have any technical skills entering the workforce, these courses helped give me a more ‘mechanical mind,’ which is essential in manufacturing.”

While Balcunas found every course essential, he identified the quality and production module as his favorite and most beneficial for his position at Abet. 

“Most of that information I use on a daily basis,” Balcunas said. “I enjoyed the sections pertaining to production planning and work flow, as well as production control. These sections positively influenced my daily operation as Assistant Manager.”

Upon his completion of the courses, Balcunas became the first person from a TMA member company to earn the nationally recognized credentials and become a Certified Production Technician.

“I’m very pleased with the technical skills that the TMA / MSSC course provided for my employee,” Mottl said. “He had the ability and the will to succeed, but needed some technical training. This course was a cost effective and painless way to ensure he got those entry level technical skills from a trusted and accredited training source.”