Growing up, Elliott Nold enjoyed playing with Legos. His interest in building blocks led him to Kansas State University where he studied mechanical engineering.
While in college, Elliott received a Koch Fertilizer summer internship as a reliability engineer in Fort Dodge, Iowa, which resulted in a full-time job offer and a move to Dodge City, Kansas.
Having been with Koch for seven years, Elliott enjoys being in a role that allows him to be outside and hands-on. The most exciting part of his job is being involved in outages and turnarounds.
“They can be the most labor intensive,” he says, “but it’s also when you get to crawl around on the equipment and realize the fruits of your labor.”
Elliott currently is the mechanical reliability manager in Dodge City. In his role, he finds “predicting the remaining life of assets and developing replacement and repair strategies that result in safe and profitable outcomes,” a challenge he remains passionate about.
One thing that surprised Elliott about being an engineer is how much communication skills are used. Not only does he have to be able to communicate with his team but also with frontline workers and upper management.
Elliott says the opportunities in engineering are endless.
“Engineering is a great foundational career that will open future opportunities both inside and outside the field of engineering,” he says.