Test Engineer and PennWest California alumnus Tom Forsythe (right) spearheaded Intervala’s sponsorship of the students’ capstone project.

Six mechatronics engineering majors from Pennsylvania Western University's California, Pa., campus recently visited Intervala to kick off the research and development phase of their capstone project. As project sponsor, Intervala has provided a complex problem for these senior-level students to solve. Specifically, they are tasked with creating a test fixture to improve general product throughput in our Westmoreland County, Pa., manufacturing facility by automating the process for programming integrated circuits. The actual creation of the fixture will take place next spring. During the project, the students will have access to Intervala’s on-site engineering lab and mentorship from our test and design engineering team.

Our partnership with PennWest was spearheaded by Intervala Test Engineer and PennWest California alumnus Tom Forsythe. Last year, Tom served on PennWest’s advisory board for the mechatronics engineering program, where he judged capstone projects submitted for the 2021-2022 school year. The university selects judges from its pool of alumni with real-world experience to evaluate the merits of the projects.

We love to see our employees making a positive impact with the schools in our communities!

Our employee golf league wrapped up its 2022 season at Meadowink Golf Course in Murrysville, Pa. Team members come out every Thursday evening beginning in April for 20 weeks of friendly competition and a lot of fun on the links! The last match of the season was themed in the tradition of the Presidents and Ryder cups, with Intervala golfers dividing into Team USA and Team Europe, and donning team colors. Congratulations to our Team USA for its victory and to Production Supervisor Jamie Welsh for earning the honor of 2022 league champion!

Thank you to AlphaLab Gear for including Intervala CEO Teresa Huber in your Women in Manufacturing article series. The full text of the interview is below.

Women in Manufacturing: Teresa Huber — Intervala LLC

In honor of national manufacturing month, we’re highlighting women in Southwestern PA working in manufacturing.

Name and Company: Teresa Huber, President & CEO of Intervala LLC

Can you give us the elevator pitch on what your company does?

At Intervala, we manufacture some of the most sophisticated electronics in the world.

Our customers are leading companies in the industrial, medical, transportation and defense industries that have made the strategic decision to focus more on R&D and marketing than on manufacturing — that’s where we come in.

Intervala becomes their manufacturing partner, producing the electronic equipment that the customer either uses in its own business or sells to other companies. It’s a completely custom business, so everything we do is tailored to the customer’s unique needs and requirements, which are generally very complex. What makes it really special for the customer is that they get a truly innovative, all-star team at their service.

Everything we do is focused on figuring out what the customer needs and then developing a unique and creative solution to help them be successful. It’s an exciting business, and it’s fun to be part of such a smart and customer-oriented team.

How did you develop this company or get involved in your role?

It’s kind of an interesting story. Intervala can trace its roots to the John A. Brashear Company, an optical instruments manufacturer founded in Pittsburgh in the early 1800s. By 2002, the company has been through several iterations and names due to a series of mergers and acquisitions. At that time, it was operating as a contract manufacturer focused on producing high-end electronic assemblies, largely for industrial applications. That’s when I first became associated with the business having been named chief operating officer. Fast forward several years and a couple more acquisitions, I had moved on to other ventures when I learned the current owners were planning to shut down the business. I believed in the organization’s tremendous growth potential. Long story short, I brought together several partners to acquire the business and continue operations and, in early 2016, Intervala was born.

What types of companies do you work with?

Our customers are leading innovators in the industrial, medical, transportation and defense industries. They generally have a global footprint.

What do you enjoy about your job?

There are so many things, but if I had to choose one it would be sharing Intervala’s culture. I believe that our company culture distinguishes Intervala in the competitive electronics manufacturing services industry. For that reason, I put a lot of emphasis on it when speaking with customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders.

The Intervala culture is purpose-based — we focus on being an indispensable partner to our customers. This purpose drives everything the company does, from our branding and marketing to building new customer relationships to hiring and onboarding employees. I believe a company’s culture is its only true competitive advantage and I’m proud to say that Intervala’s really helps us stand out.

What is a challenge in manufacturing that you would like to tackle?

In our business, we tackle manufacturing challenges every day, some of which are very technically tough, which is fun. Because we are a contract manufacturer, we build a large number of unique and complex products for our customers.

I love ensuring that we provide the best manufacturing solutions for each of our customers to help them succeed.

Can you tell us about a lesson you learned in your career?

One that has really stuck with me took place early on in my career. My manager told me that I should never come to him with a problem unless I had at least some type of proposed solution. It’s easy to identify problems, but the real value in people comes from solving problems.

What is one myth or common misconception people have about manufacturing?

I think many people still associate manufacturing with heavy industry where workers can experience dirty or loud work environments, heavy lifts and safety concerns. Today’s manufacturing environments, particularly in tech where we do business, couldn’t be more different.

Our factories are clean, safe and climate-controlled environments where our people work with quiet, high-tech equipment and do very precise, complex work with small, handheld tools.

Thank you to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review for featuring Intervala’s participation in the PA CareerLink job fair! We are hiring for all levels of a variety of positions at our sites in Westmoreland County, Pa., and Southern New Hampshire. Click here to check out job openings.

The full article is available here.

Nice weather, check. Fried chicken, check. Fun and games, check. Our Pennsylvania team’s employee picnic checked all the boxes again this year! Employees and their families gathered to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch before diving into outdoor games, including cornhole, bingo and our traditional “Closest to the Flamingo” long-drive contest. A fantastic face painter, airbrush tattoo artist and strolling magician added to the fun.

Congratulations to the 10 lucky attendees who took home raffled gift baskets, especially Jason Eddy who won the “5-Nights-Out” grand prize! And cheers to the day’s big winner, Rich McBeth, who dominated the cornhole tournament and the long-drive competition. Many thanks to Jaden’s Catering, Mike the Balloon Guy, Intervala treat makers and our employee association for making this year’s picnic a big hit!