Mountville’s Management Pipeline – Hiring Interns

(l/r) Mountville Mills' latest contingent of summer interns: (l/r) Christopher Ferguson, Trine University; Matt Bates, Auburn University; and Blake Sempetrean, Indiana University.

Managers in the linen, uniform and facility services industry that are eager to recruit high-quality management candidates should consider the experience of mat manufacturer Mountville Mills Inc., which has leveraged its summer internship program to develop several top managers in recent years.

“Kirk Boster, our managing director for Europe; Mike Coffing, president of the Rubber Division; and Tyler Fowler, president of the textile rental division all started out as management trainees,” said David Watterson, senior vice president of international sales for Mountville Mills. He added that the company based in LaGrange, GA started its management-trainee program about 20 years ago. The internship program is roughly 10 years old. Interns in some cases are offered full-time jobs at Mountville, “If we find them suitable and they find us a good fit.” Fowler was the company’s first intern.

Interns selected for this summer’s 10-week program include:

• Matt Bates, a junior at Auburn University, Auburn, AL. He is majoring in business administration/supply side management. He’s learning about Mountville’s production processes, purchasing, logistics and operations.
   
• Christopher Ferguson is currently a junior at Trine University at Angola, IN, where he’s majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in robotics. Mountville managers have assigned Ferguson to the company’s engineering department.
   
• Blake Sempetrean is a junior at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He’s majoring in financial management in the Kelley School of Business. He’s minoring in and marketing and psychology. Sempetrean is working with Mountville’s sales and marketing team and is learning all aspects of the business.