Initially, then-high-schooler Jacob Coffing saw signing up for machine trades simply as a way to “get out of class.” Later he realized it was the first step toward his career in advanced manufacturing … a career that has evolved into a passion.
“Manufacturing is more than just a job for me,” says the graduate of Seeger High School in Warren County. “I love what I do, or I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Now the Director of Testbed Operations at Purdue University’s IN-MaC, founder of Coffing CNC and a member of the Conexus Indiana Rising 30 class of 2022, Jacob says he certainly was aware of manufacturing opportunities when he was younger. His father worked in industrial maintenance, and Jacob figured he would follow his dad’s lead and be a maintenance engineer.
But as he learned more, Jacob discovered he had an interest in high-tech manufacturing. Eager to launch his career as soon as possible so he could start a family, Jacob pursued a two-year degree in precision manufacturing at Vincennes University and entered the workforce as a machinist programmer.
Jacob says he was fortunate to get hired by Marion Manufacturing in West Terre Haute and then Caterpillar in Lafayette, where he was able to gain extensive experience in CNC and other areas of advanced manufacturing. In fact, he says he would have been happy spending his career with either of those firms, but decided to listen when new opportunities presented themselves – something he believes all young professionals should do.
“Always be willing to hear someone out,” he says. “It’s been twice in my career when I’ve been really happy where I’m at, but I listened and I ended up making moves.”
At IN-MaC, which helps Indiana manufacturers improve their operations, technology adoption and access to resources, Jacob enjoys opportunities to use technology to solve problems for businesses. For example, one company recently came to IN-MaC with an issue and, with one simple sensor, Jacob’s team was able to find a solution that will result in “thousands and thousands of dollars in return for that company,” he says.
Jacob attributes his love of problem solving in part to farming with his dad as a kid and learning to resort to “bailing twine engineering” when necessary. It’s a skill he likely puts to work often in the machine shop he operates on the side—Coffing CNC, on his own little farm, and in the 166-year-old house he lives in with that family he was so eager to start.
