{"id":1144,"date":"2026-03-04T11:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/?p=1144"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:44:20","slug":"first-class-experience-strongwell-visit-inspires-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/first-class-experience-strongwell-visit-inspires-students\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Class Experience: Strongwell Visit Inspires Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

John-Mark Kennedy had never visited a major engineering company before taking a trip last November with a group from the Tickle College of Engineering to the headquarters of Strongwell Corporation, the world leader in the pultrusion of fiber reinforced structural components.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kennedy, a sophomore industrial engineering major, anticipated taking a quick tour of the facility and possibly asking a few questions to an employee. He was blown away bythe reception the TCE contingent received. The students were all provided personalized name tags, had sit down meetings with multiple Strongwell executives, and were given extensive access to the manufacturing operations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey met us with so much hospitality and kindness,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThey easily could have compartmentalized us or rushed us through really quick. But I feel like they made a whole day about it, and made us feel really, really welcome.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kennedy was one of eight ISE students to make the trip to Bristol, Virginia, with a TCE group that included Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis chair of the college; ISE Department Head Mingzhou Jin; and Gary Null, ISE assistant department head for undergraduate affairs and outreach and engagement coordinator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strongwell\u2019s owner and chairman is John D. Tickle (BS\/ISE \u201965), one of the college\u2019s most successful alums and a generous university benefactor. Tickle is the namesake of the college and has an engineering building on campus named for him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A first-generation student, Tickle worked to pay his way through college before joining the workforce in 1965. He is globally recognized as an ambassador for the process of pultrusion and has been a champion for its value in the composites marketplace.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon the group\u2019s arrival at Strongwell, Tickle met with the ISE students in his office to share stories, including how graduating from UT inspired him to do better in the business world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to sit down with him and have a conversation to learn more about his story and how he got to where he is today was a really cool experience,\u201d said sophomore ISE major Carson Long. \u201cFrom that conversation alone, I gained a perspective on work ethic and determination.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strongwell\u2019s UT pipeline\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Tickle was hired as president and general manager of Strongwell in 1972. He and his family purchased a share of the company from Shell Oil Company in 1993 and gained 100 percent ownership a few years later.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strongwell regularly supports summer student interns from TCE and has hired numerous TCE alumni to join the company\u2019s workforce. The company\u2019s products address real-world engineering challenges. They have been used as corrosion-resistant platforms in chemical plants, composite structural shapes in trail bridge infrastructure, and gates for dairy farms, among other things.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Strongwell can have more than 20 active research and development projects in progress to test new materials or develop products and processes for the future. The 398,000-square foot Bristol headquarters include more than 35 machines and 10,000 square feet of lab space for testing and research and development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

During the visit, the TCE students viewed a presentation about Strongwell\u2019s history, the company\u2019s capabilities, and the markets it serves. They toured the plant and display room, where they saw a variety of products manufactured by the company.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was essential to me as a student to see the operations of a company with this kind of experience and facilities,\u201d said sophomore ISE major Ana Cabrera. \u201cI\u2019m very interestedin the field of manufacturing and efficiency, so getting to see the inner workings of their factory alongside their research labs, where they are constantly innovating their materials, was an experience I will relive over and over.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engineering inspirations\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

During their lunch break, the students sat at tables with various corporate leaders from Strongwell to find out more about their personal journeys and career paths in engineering.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great learning more about what people are doing in the professional field, especially in industrial engineering,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cWe were able to get experiencenetworking and learning how to talk to people and be engaged in conversations with executives about their engineering experiences. That was extremely valuable.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before they departed Strongwell, Tickle gave each student a copy of his book, \u201cNever Close a Door: Lessons in Leadership.\u201d Cabrera was inspired by what Tickle has accomplished and the culture he\u2019s built at Strongwell. The visit reinforced her interest in manufacturing and her decision to attend UT.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest takeaway from the trip was learning how persistence and the determination to show up for your customers can grow a company through the years and can settle it as a household name in the field of pultrusion,\u201d Cabrera said. \u201cTheir commitment to not only perfecting this process but to educating others in its efficiency is amazing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact<\/h2>\n

Rhiannon Potkey (rpotkey@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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