Millennial Spotlight: Mary Kathryn Lamping

Mary Kathryn Lamping is a millennial who works as an account manager in fabrication at the Kloeckner Metals Murfreesboro branch. Not too long ago, however, Mary Kathryn was living in North Carolina and working at another steel company. When her now-husband got a job in Nashville, she wanted to make a switch. She found that Kloeckner was the perfect place to continue developing her career.

“When I was looking at Kloeckner, I was looking for a place where I had the opportunity to fully develop my career and potentially retire with, and I saw that here,” Mary Kathryn says. “One thing that really stands out to me is that they highly value training and the growth of their employees.”

Training is very important to Mary Kathryn. When she first started at Kloeckner, she spent a few days in each department. She rode with drivers, observed machine operators, and visited customers.

“The onboarding process that they set up for me was above and beyond other companies I’ve seen,” Mary Kathryn says. “It’s so I have a better understanding of how the company works together. Understanding how each department operates gives you a better grasp of who you should be communicating with, best practices, and what the company is all about.”

In addition to that, Kloeckner offers a variety of programs for employees to learn and expand their knowledge base. Kloeckner partners with mills to organize tours and presentations. This gives the sales staff a better understanding of the entire process, so they are more knowledgeable when dealing with customers. Additionally, Kloeckner offers a variety of training courses. One that stood out to Mary Kathryn was the Butler Learning Systems sales and negotiation training in Ohio which she was able to attend.

“I feel like I came back much more prepared and aware of how to negotiate and communicate with customers,” Mary Kathryn says. “You can tell that Kloeckner is a company that wants to assist us and give us the tools to grow and succeed within our career.

In her spare time, Mary Kathryn likes to exercise and travel. She has been to exotic places like Brazil and Mexico, but her favorite destination is Seaside Florida, where she was recently married. She has lived in six different states, but she says that Tennessee is her favorite so far.

“I like to explore new places and travel, whether it is a quick weekend getaway or whenever I can find the time,” Mary Kathryn says.