International Training Program

After working during my first three years on successful developments for the bonded abrasives market in Brazil which resulted in three new bonds for bonded products, I was chosen by my director to join the International Training Program.
This training program is a program of the High Performance Materials pole and took me a 7 months stay in the Saint-Gobain R&D center in Northboro and Worcerster, both cities in Massachusetts-USA.
I always wanted to go the USA to improve my english skills and by this time our local R&D had a lack of knowledge on research and some limitations to work with R&D projects in order to support the local activities.
Then, I went and had the best professional and personal opportunity of my life. I was in contact with many R&D Engineers who taught me so many things and whom I've made a strong friendship. Since I was also supportting the manufacturing process in Brazil, I got the opportunity to do a benchmarking of the activities in the bonded plants in Worcester-MA so I can help and boost our process in Brazil now.
As I was working as process engineer in Brazil, I could support the plant in a internal project with my prior expertise in the process so that different points of view were shared between the USA engineers and I during this project. We have got many interesting findings which helped both parts, USA and Brazil, to understand more about the process for a product.
Regarding R&D activities, I had the opportunity to support 3 projects. One was related to the understanding of the properties and testing of an important raw material used by the whole abrasives group to which the information will support the key end-use products worldwide. The other 2 projects were done to support my plant with information to improve a specific process and to defend the market share in South America.
At the end of this 7 month period, I can say that I have achieved one of my dreams in my career. I can easily communicate in english now and the most important thing was the networking I've done with all the people I've worked with. Also, I could realize how important Saint-Gobain Group is and how this group have changed my life, my way of working and how they worried with people and invest on the workers. For a good job you've done, there'll be always a reward and I really consider my internship as a prize of my dedication to the company.