Johnstown, PA June 10, 2024
Our employees are remarkable in their commitment to their work and their country. In addition to their contributions to CTC and EVC in support of our military clients, many of them also work directly in our nation’s armed forces.
In this installment of our “Behind the Scenes” series, we introduce you to Dante Leone-Thomas, who is a welding technician at CTC as well as a Horizontal Construction Engineer with the Army National Guard. As we learn more about his job as a welder at CTC, we thank him for his service to our company and country.
Tell us a little about your role as a welder.
As one of CTC’s welding technicians, I am responsible for constructing some of our many jobs, including the mast weldments and support tube assemblies, along with cutting plates for the friction stir department.
What does a typical day on the job look like for you?
Depending on the job assigned for that day, some of my daily tasks include reviewing blueprints related to my portion of the job and gathering all materials required to complete said task.
What are some of the challenges and rewards in your role?
One of the main challenges I’ve faced thus far has been making the change from welding sheet metal to working with heavy gauge materials. Welding requires precision and patience because of the many different variables that go into creating the perfect weld. While I do face many challenges in this industry, the main reward is seeing the completed product in the environment it was created for.
Describe some of the team collaborations you’re involved in.
Outside of the welding aspect, some of the collaborative rolls that I have been able to partake in are building shipping crates for products in need of delivery, cutting large plates for the Friction Stir Welding group, and rearranging different areas of the shop using forklift operations.
Where do you envision this role in the future?
I hope that this position will continue to allow me to learn more techniques within the welding industry, and further my ability within the company.
Tell us an interesting fact about you that most people might not know.
I’m currently seven years enlisted in the United States Army National Guard as a Horizontal Construction Engineer. From 2021 to 2022 I was deployed for nine months, where I traveled to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq.
Anything else you’d like to share?
My girlfriend and I recently purchased our home where we live with our one-year-old Bengal cat, Twix, and our two-month-old Doberman puppy, Rosco.
