Republican-Eagle: Mechatronics program at Minnesota State College Southeast teaches technical skills and problem-solving

By Katryn Conlin for the Republican-Eagle
October 24, 2024

When you talk about mechatronics technology with Chris Schwertel, you can sense his excitement about the field and passion for being an instructor at Minnesota State College Southeast's Red Wing campus. 

Schwertel has found his calling working with students in the mechatronics lab, surrounded by massive pneumatic and hydraulic trainers, a robotic arm, programmable logic controllers, and electromechanical workstations. 

But what is mechatronics technology?

"Most people who have heard the term 'mechatronics' are aware that it has something to do with programming and robotics," Schwertel explained. "Mechatronics takes in all the mechanical aspects of a maintenance position and adds the automation controls and robotic programming that is necessary in today's industry."

Schwertel said that when he talks to someone who says, "I don't know what I want to do with my life," he tries to find out what they like to do. 

"If I can find a person who likes to take things apart or put them together, someone who talks about Legos or doing puzzles, I can usually bend that conversation around to mechatronics," Schwertel observed. 

Schwertel came to Southeast from a career at Kwik Trip headquarters in La Crosse, WI. From 2016 to 2021, he advanced through several roles there that involved skills in pneumatics, hydraulics, programming, electrical, motors, drives, coolant systems, and robotics.

He is grateful to the company for pushing him to become an instructor at Southeast, even though it meant leaving a job he truly loved. 

"Kwik Trip encouraged me to take this position because their maintenance team is seeing a lot of retirements and they will need new personnel," he said. "I hope to fill some of those gaps for the maintenance industry. We live in such a fantastic area with so much industry that the need is there, regardless of which company or what product is being made." 

While some of Schwertel's students are college students working toward a diploma or degree in mechatronics, others are sent by local industry to train at Southeast.

Joe Fanum is taking mechatronics coursework at Southeast through his employer, Intek Plastics in Hastings. He had been an operator at Intek for about 18 months when the opportunity to do a dual-training program in mechatronics came up.

"It's a benefit to me because I'm getting a college degree, and I'm learning a set of skills that I'll take with me throughout my life," he said. "I'm being paid to learn at the college and on the job."

Fanum added, "Plus, it's beneficial to Intek because they are getting younger employees who are fresh out of college and have trained in the workplace with their current employees. It's an investment for them long term." 

Mechatronics is not just about machinery and technical skills, it's about communications and problem solving, Schwertel noted. "Well-rounded technicians listen to their coworkers to discover what the issue is and what needs to be done to fix it."

He remembered from his days at Kwik Trip that, "By getting their machine up and running, when I walked away, they were in a better mood, the machine was running better, the production line was running better, and I felt like I was an integral part of the system." 

Schwertel said he came to mechatronics later in life and wished he had known about it and picked up on his own potential when he was in high school.

"Because mechatronics includes so many skill sets, it's a great platform to find out which competencies interest you. You can find a career and a path that's right for you," he said. "I'm really excited about mechatronics because it gives people the opportunity to see a career they might not have considered and discover a direction they might want to go."

Photo Captions

Above: Chris Schwertel (right) has found his calling as a mechatronics instructor at Southeast in Red Wing.
Middle: Chris Schwertel in the mechatronics lab at Minnesota State College Southeast.
Below: Joe Fanum, an employee at Intek Plastics, works with a hydraulic trainer in Fluid Power class at Southeast.