“During my first year at Simmatic, I have completed the Thermodynamics, Mathematics, Mechanical Principles and Fluid Dynamics courses at Dudley College of Technology - working towards my Engineering Manufacturing Technician Level 4 Mech qualification. I apply these skills to day to day working at Simmatic, improving my work and engineering knowledge as I go on. Over the past twelve months with Simmatic, I have been given a range of tasks to further my experience with industrial vacuum and pneumatic equipment. Working with the VMECA vacuum range, testing different products and creating video evidence. Some of the products I have tested include; VMECA’s Magic Grippers, V-Grips and Turtle Pumps – trialing a variety of products such as; avocados, paper bags and fruit boxes. Using the knowledge I gained from this testing, I designed a custom head for picking up labels, with a custom 3D printed head. I used CAD software and Simmatic’s in-house 3D printer, incorporating VMECA’s suction cups and a vacuum generator. For me this has been a real eye opener, seeing how the world of automation works and I can’t wait to see where the next twelve months are going to take me. I’ve also been involved with building control panels, using pneumatic components. The control panels have been used to control the movement of cylinders or to time a vacuum conveyor. While building these, I have dramatically improved my hands-on skills, such as drilling and tapping. I’m looking forward to continually learning and improving my skills in the future at Simmatic.”

Ben Priest, Simmatic’s Technical Director and Ryan’s Line Manager said, “Keep up the hard work and progression. We’re all so pleased to have you as part of the team.”

Ryan will continue to work alongside Simmatic’s experienced team of Engineers, learning as he earns, creating a career for himself in the process.

Please join us in saying congratulations to Ryan.

https://simmatic.co.uk/2025/06/celebrating-ryans-first-year/