Bent over a worktable and concealed behind a scratched hood decorated in flames, Masenn Lewis, lead welder at James Engineering, is laser-focused on the project at hand: welding components for a cement 3D printer.
Lewis has been a welder at James Engineering since March of 2022. Prior to finding his place at the family-owned deburring and chamfering machine shop located in Broomfield, Colorado, Lewis had eight years of welding experience, working on anything from firetrucks to underwater pipelines. He attended the Divers Institute of Technology located in Seattle, where his underwater welding journey began once he’d earned his certificate. “[As an underwater welder] I’ve been all over the place. I was in Dutch Harbor, Alaska for almost a year, working with crab fishermen doing underwater construction. My favorite place was at a dam job in Austin, Texas.” Underwater welding is argued to be the most dangerous career in the country, with a fatality rate of 15%. After sustaining major injuries during his time as an underwater welder, Lewis moved from Texas to Colorado to look for something a bit drier.
Masenn lewis
“I was up in [Colorado] doing a handful of interviews,” he recalls, “and [James Engineering] offered to hire me on the spot.”
His skills did not go unnoticed, and James Engineering just knew they had to have him on their team.
But just as Lewis has played a vital role at James Engineering, they have played a major part in Lewis’s professional life. “I’ve worked for other companies where you don’t have access to the engineers to figure out what problems are happening, [but here] I’m able to talk to the engineers whenever I need to,” he says. “It’s a strong suit of the company.” Without collaboration, the manufacturing industry as a whole would fail. James Engineering highly values teamwork, and Lewis has experienced firsthand just how valuable a strong team can be. “People here get along really well, and it makes it easier to work for sure.”
This collaboration then provides endless learning opportunities, especially in the face of hard challenges. “We’ve had to work on parts of the enclosures where it’s impossible to do what we need to do,” Lewis answers when asked what challenges he’s had to overcome during his time at James Engineering. “Jim, Scott, the engineers and I figure out different ways to get things done.”
tips from the torchbearer
In an industry that requires so much precision, Lewis offers up a few helpful tips to those who are looking to try their hand at welding. “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Welding is an industry where you have to work hard, there’s no reason for you to watch people work and just sit around… Always have an open mind when it comes to welding. There’s a thousand ways to do something. One time it might work and the next time it might not, so you have to keep an open mind working on stuff.”
Lewis’s mastery of welding can be seen throughout every project he’s a part of. His dedication and craftsmanship reflect the steadfast values James Engineering upholds, and it’s employees like Masenn Lewis that strengthen our very foundation as a company.