Age: 33.
Job title/occupation/place of employment: Industrial engineering manager at A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co.
Volunteer activities: Junior Achievement of the Heartland.
Education: Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at UW Platteville.
Family: Wife, Heidi; children,
Carter and Cayden.
Person most inspirational to me and why: I don’t really have one person as this changes based on hearing about new people doing great things.
Favorite thing to do outside of work: Spend time with family, boating, woodworking and remodeling our house.
One word to describe me: Engineer.
What’s one thing that most people would be surprised to know about you: I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, but my career path has pushed me to industrial/manufacturing engineering.
Greatest fear: Letting others down, whether it be personal or professional.
What’s the one thing you are most passionate about in your life: Life. Whether it be family, friends, work or community, you can find passion in everything you do.
Patrick Arnold, industrial engineering manager, A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co.
Patrick Arnold is motivated when he sees success in his team and company at A.Y. McDonald.
“Seeing the success of new projects with new team members has been very exciting,” Arnold said. “The new challenge every day keeps me coming back for more.”
The company builds waterworks valves and fittings that connect the water main to the end user.
Arnold joined the company at age 22 and became a manager at 27, making him one of the youngest managers in the 166-year-old company.
Andrew Young (A.Y.) McDonald started the company in 1856. Today, his great-great-grandson, Rob McDonald, is the CEO and is the person who nominated Arnold for Rising Stars.
“Since joining the company at age 22, Patrick has consistently set himself apart from his peers with his drive, knowledge and ability to make things happen,” McDonald said. “It’s interesting to see how people respond to Patrick. Older people marvel at his project management skills and his ability to balance a large project while also maintaining machining operations across three manufacturing facilities. Younger people look up to him for what he has achieved at such a young age. All of his co-workers see a very nice, humble person who has the ability to make things happen for the company.
“We all know if Patrick is leading a project, it will succeed. People follow Patrick because of steady leadership, his collaboration skills and his ability to ask the right questions. Patrick listens more than he talks. This rare skill set has served him very, very well,” McDonald said.
Arnold started in product engineering, designing product when he joined the company. He was tapped to join industrial engineering to build product. With the unprecedented level of business the company is enjoying, Arnold is leading a project to purchase, engineer and install the largest machining capacity expansion in the company’s history. He is managing a budget on this project that is larger than any previous project in the company.
When asked how he manages such a huge project, Arnold said, “Time management and working as a team. There’s not one project that one person can say they worked on their own. A.Y. McDonald has one of its values ‘None of us is as smart as all of us,’ which I wholeheartily agree with.”
Arnold and his wife, Heidi, have two sons, 3 and 5. Arnold serves on the North Region Board of Directors with Junior Achievement of the Heartland and has taught classes for JA participants.