Good company to start your career, but not a lot worth staying for long term
Pros
I worked at the I/N Tek & Kote facility for 2 years as a mechanical project engineer. I can't speak for the rest of the ArcelorMittal plants, but I/N Tek & Kote was a great facility to work for. As a young engineer at of college, there were a lot of "low hanging fruit" projects that kept you busy with lots to do. There was a lot of freedom in the projects I worked on. You learn a lot very fast and continue to learn new things everyday in this position. I/N Kote is a good facility to work for as you start out as an engineer (not a shift manager like the bigger mills) and work normal hours (M-F 8 to 5). Weekend duty is required for 2 weekends per year after the 2 year mark. The work life balance was good. If you needed to go to a dr's appointment or the dentist etc. you had the freedom to go and do it without taking vacation as long as you don't abuse the system. I/N Tek & Kote had great people to work with and the team environment made the work enjoyable.
Cons
Unfortunately I/N Kote falls under the umbrella of ArcelorMittal USA. The pay was average starting out as a mechanical engineer in the area but you'll find your pay quickly falls behind and stagnates in comparison to your peers at other fortune 500 companies. Most mills are located in undesirable areas. Why would a young engineer want to move to northwest Indiana to work in a dirty environment for average pay? If you want to retain talent, the company is going to need to start paying engineers more than the 50th percentile in pay. 3 weeks vacation is good to start, but you don't get anymore until 15 years with the company. I/N Kote doesn't have shift managers, but I think it's a big mistake that Arcelormittal hires some young engineers out of college to work midnights in a dirty environment managing disgruntled union employees. It's no surprise why the retention rate is so low for associates. The union employees that you are managing make a lot more money than the salaried work force. It's discouraging to stay motivated when you hear how much better the union benefits are than the salaried side. Some quarters the salaried bonus was $300, while the union bonus was $6000+ even though we work for the same company.
