A childhood love of experiments builds foundation for design career in manufacturing

As a kid growing up on a farm, Nathan Wilmoth spent his days building things and tinkering with machines, to see not only what made them work, but also how he could improve them in design and function.

“My story is that of an enthusiastic youth that had always dreamed of creating, designing, and being an engineer,” said Wilmoth, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in 2005. “I wanted art to follow function.”

Today, as vice president of operations at Peachtree City-based M.A. Industries, Wilmoth still gets to live out his childhood love of creating and designing products for the company. M.A. Industries manufactures products designed for the precast concrete, porous plastic, and pulp and paper marketplaces.

Wilmoth is the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (GaMEP) September Face of Manufacturing.

The manufacturing industry is vital to the success of the Georgia economy. Through the individual stories of Wilmoth and others profiled in the series, the Faces of Manufacturing showcases how each of them — like the 365,000 Georgians who work in the industry — help their communities remain strong and economically viable.

“I owe a lot to manufacturing, and manufacturing does a lot for people,” Wilmoth said. His chosen profession as a mechanical engineer has given him a fun and challenge-rich career with lots of opportunities and personal fulfillment.

“Manufacturing has provided me with a sense of purpose, strengthened my character, enhanced my integrity, and given me a strong sense of community,” he said.

But it wasn’t necessarily an easy path for Wilmoth, who graduated from Georgia Tech with a 4.0 grade point average and holds six U.S. patents as an inventor.

Though he had a natural ability and interest in engineering and dreamed of making his professional career in that field, he wasn’t always so focused.

A talented pole vaulter in high school who took his athletic prowess to college at Troy State University in Troy, Alabama, Wilmoth’s focus on sports drew his attention away from his studies and his grades suffered. Ultimately, he dropped out of college after his father lost his job and the family could no longer afford it.

“I spent the next 10 years working various jobs in the printing industry and haphazardly attending junior college. My primary focus was on athletics, music, and social interactions,” Wilmoth said. “But something was missing in my life.  As I gained maturity, I began to realize that my life lacked substance and meaning. The change only came through the realization that my ultimate goal in life was one of learning.”

 He decided to enroll in drafting school, and while in school he obtained a job at M.A. Industries.

“One of the first realizations I had was the limitless need for improvements in the manufacturing environment,” he said. “As I worked at M.A., my need to design and create was satisfied with an ever-increasing responsibility for design, development, and the improvement of manufacturing efficiencies.”

Soon, he was doing the work of an engineer, which propelled him toward going back to school for a mechanical engineering degree at Tech. It took two attempts — his first application was rejected because of his earlier academic record.  But he reapplied for acceptance and included recommendation letters from key instructors in junior college and superiors at M.A. Industries. He also submitted copies of a patent assigned to M.A. Industries for which he was the primary inventor.

The second application was accepted. In his 19 years at M.A. Industries, Wilmoth has gone from draftsman to junior engineer to director of engineering to his current position as vice president of operations. His chosen field is just as rewarding now as were the successes he had building things as a child, such as the parasail he constructed and attempted to get airborne using a tractor.

“Every day, I get to bring my childhood interests of building and experimentation to my job,” Wilmoth said. “One of the great things about engineering is that — every day — I get the opportunity to try to solve real-world problems.”

By Péralte C. Paul