SmithCo Side Dump Trailers is an industry leader because of the hard work of our knowledgeable and dedicated employees. Our “Meet the Team” series spotlights members of our staff who help SmithCo continue to be the best in our field. Today, we share insights from Orelous Bousquet, Lead Design Engineer.

I joined the SmithCo team in 1999. I was introduced to the company by talking with Jim Verros (currently SmithCo’s Sales Engineer/Product Development), who was one of my colleagues when I was working at a different company. I learned a lot from Jim about side dumps, and he explained to me how he felt that SmithCo as a company was going to grow into something great. SmithCo’s engineering at that time consisted of only two people; they needed some help! So I applied for a draftsperson position and was hired by Jim and by Greg Smith.

Solving Problems Through Engineering

As lead engineer designer, most of my time is dedicated to new or custom products that we build for the customer. My typical day at work usually consists of lots of communications with the other members of the design engineering team to make sure all the different projects are progressing as needed. It can be very fast paced at times, and keeping things organized and moving in the right direction is a key challenge.

Construction starts with a conversation between the customer and our Sales team. Once the Sales team and Sales Engineer have finalized the concept and details of what will work best for the customer, the project is then handed to the design engineering team. We then go through the process of getting this new design ready for the production floor. This involves finalizing the design of any new parts and drawings required to build the structural side of the trailer, as well as designing the air, electrical, and hydraulic systems required to make the final product fully functional.

Design engineers need to remember that there are two customers for every trailer we produce: Not just the end user who purchases the trailer for their business, but also the workers on the production floor. It is our job to make sure that we design parts and systems that can be properly manufactured and assembled with our facilities and manufacturing team. Safety is a priority at SmithCo and we have to keep that in mind when designing new products, so part of my job is to work with the manufacturing team to spot and resolve potential material handling problems before they can occur.

The Best Part of the Job

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the final product come together and perform as expected to satisfy the customer’s needs. I enjoy the work I do and the people I get to do it with. It takes a lot of teamwork from all departments to produce our high-quality trailers.