People And Stories: Ambitious Workforce

Exyte’s success story is dominated by its talented and motivated global workforce. Through inspiring stories of learning, growth, opportunity, and ambition to succeed, hear how Exyte is making career dreams a reality for employees, and in turn, driving the success of the company all over the world.

Joining Exyte in Singapore was no accident for Senior Engineer Plamena Petkova. She knew she wanted to expand her skillset and work on projects that bring the future of technology to life. With an extensive career as a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) engineer in the oil and gas industry, Petkova describes HVAC as her “zest for life” and felt a yearning to learn even more. “I needed a new challenge. I wanted to learn new processes and have the ability to diversify my skills,” she begins. And so, in 2021, Petkova and Exyte were introduced, and as they say, the rest is history.

Plamena Petkova is shown at a construction site, wearing a white hard hat, safety glasses, and a reflective yellow vest with her name tag visible. She stands confidently in front of industrial structures, indicating her role in the engineering or construction field.

Bringing Success to Projects Through Experience and Expertise

Since her arrival Petkova has been part of a project team for a large semiconductor wafer fab in the heart of Singapore. “This project has been a crazy and amazing learning curve at the same time. I have learnt about new systems and processes and I’m excited to come on-site every day.”

For Petkova, a continuous learning is made possible by Exyte. Recently the senior engineer completed her Professional Project Management (PPM) qualification. “I can use my PPM to help me manage the projects successfully from an engineering point of view and I just want to keep learning with Exyte.”

Julian Kuczaty is standing outside, wearing a dark blue buttoned shirt and olive green pants. He faces the camera with his hands in his pockets, set against a modern office building background.

Heading around the world, the story continues with Julian Kuczaty, a German native based at Exyte’s headquarters in Stuttgart. He joined the company in 2016 as a process engineer, directly after completing his studies in the biopharma and life sciences sector. Since then, he has worked on projects across Germany and Asia and grown into his position as a Manager of Drug Substances and Process Team Lead, managing a team of around ten people. “It’s worked out perfectly thanks to the support from Exyte,” he smiles.

“Perfectly” because development has come in abundance and began immediately after joining, when he was placed on a project in the center of Germany. Throughout the last eight years Kuczaty has honed his expertise and taken up training courses offered by Exyte. “The trainings and project experience helped accelerate my career. When I sought opportunities, Exyte met me with solutions.”

Elise Backstrom, smiling while leaning against a wall. She is dressed in a high-visibility vest, holding blueprints and an Exyte-branded helmet, indicating her involvement in a construction or engineering project.

Since Childhood, Elise Backstrom Knew Her Future Was in Engineering.

“I was naturally drawn to engineering,” Elise Backstrom begins. “This pull became stronger when I realized my work had the potential to positively impact lives.” The American born Mechanical Engineer joined the company eight years ago, based in Arizona. She was first exposed to Exyte when she worked for a local company in Iowa where she was studying. “It was my introduction to clean room design. I realized that area was something that I was really interested in,” she remarks.

Since then, she has gone from strength to strength starting as a graduate engineer to now being the only woman in the state of Arizona to hold a Control Systems Engineering License and a Mechanical Engineering License, qualifications she’s achieved through Exyte. “In the entire state there are approximately five men that also hold these qualifications but so far, I am the only woman. Exyte has really supported me to achieve this and also with earning my Professional Engineering License.”

When Backstrom casts her mind back to the beginning of her career with Exyte, it’s only ever a positive experience. “Exyte has helped me create a way to succeed in whatever I want to do, and I’m excited to see what’s in store in the future, and what projects I can work on across the globe.”