Mpho Tshidzumba

Senior mechanical engineer – conveyor systems

"When I was younger, I always thought the sky was the limit. But after being exposed to thyssenkrupp, limits are things of the past."

My job: always learning something new

I started working at thyssenkrupp when I was in university, as a bursary student ... 14 years ago. At the time thyssenkrupp South Africa used to offer bursaries to two to three students each year. The application process was extremely rigorous, but I pulled through and was accepted to the program. Thyssenkrupp financed my degree in mechanical engineering and all the post graduate studies therefore after. Post my graduation studying, I began working for the organisation. I was given the opportunity to try a few things before deciding which direction I wanted to go in. Today, I’m not just a senior engineer, but also a specialist for conveyor systems. I’m always learning more about my field.

My challenges

My job presents me with new challenges all the time. When you work in such a dynamic, varied environment, often under pressure, you are very remote from monotony-, -and that’s what makes my job attractive. Thyssenkrupp also offers many diversified career opportunities – not to mention the work culture here gives you a sense of belonging which is fundamental quality to the human race.

My typical working day

As a specialist for conveyor systems, my job is to develop the best conveyor solutions for transporting comodities in the most efficient way possible. Days go by so fast that I sometimes wonder if my watch is dis-functional. But as the saying goes: Time flies when you’re having fun.

Our tagline is "engineering. tomorrow. together.". For me, "together" means...

... something a bit different. In the past, business units were not as integrated in their day to day operations. With the recent organizational structure amendments, we can now offer integrated and optimized solutions and use our internal expertise from all corners of the globe to provide our customers with better solutions while maintaining a cohesive, unified image.

thyssenkrupp is in the position to bring you from nowhere to somewhere

I would recommend thyssenkrupp as an ideal employer of choice to my friends. What I think sets it apart from others is that the list of opportunities seems endless and it also offers international exposure and believe me the latter is something to treasure. One must admit, the culture (people) and benefits at thyssenkrupp makes it difficult to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Sometimes I think that life isn’t long enough to discover everything thyssenkrupp has to offer. In 2011, I went to Brazil for two months. While I was there, my wife was in a car accident. I called my boss and he did something completely unexpected: he stopped everything he was doing and channeled resources to help her out in South Africa. It’s moments like these that make me feel like I am part of the thyssenkrupp family—even if we aren’t blood related, we still look out for one another.