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KLN Family Brands/Tuffy's Pet Foods
College Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors…We’re looking for you!
Our Story
KLN Family Brands is a 3rd generation family-owned business that started in 1964 with its corporate headquarters located in Perham, MN, in the heart of MN lakes country. Together, our companies manufacture a diverse and expanding range of high-quality human and pet food products.
At KLN Family Brands, our vision is that “We are a proud people-first company. We are successful because of trust-based relationships, and first-rate products for our families and friends. We better the world by caring for others. We challenge. We grow. We inspire.”
Some companies have to “fudge the story” a little. Some need the extra “spin” to shine a positive light on themselves. That’s not who we are at KLN Family Brands, and that’s not what we do. We tell the story of our brand – our people, the quality of our products, our spirit & moxie, our tradition, and the way we treat our community & beyond. We do it in a genuine way because we genuinely believe we’re a pretty amazing company.
We’re looking for a Formulization & Food ScienceIntern for Summer of 2024 that is serious about a career in manufacturing. If you are willing to learn from the best, and have a desire to participate in the growth of some of the fastest growing brands in the Pet Food Industry, you’ve stumbled onto the right job.
The Opportunity
This posting is for an internship position on the R&D Formulation team focusing on product and process optimization and technical support located in Perham, MN. Students will gain real world experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Food Processing Industry and develop professionally in a progressive manner with an increasing amount of responsibility. This position is a unique opportunity to apply Food Science skills to real world problems focusing on the optimization of both processes and products. Intern will work directly food scientists and engineers to support efforts such as ingredient evaluations, lab testing, product reformulations, and process improvements. This position is intended for students who are interested in and capable of working full-time for a duration of 8 to 12 weeks starting in May 2024.
Responsibilities:
- Support of reformulation of existing products by evaluating recipes and process parameters through plant testing
- Support of our growth and margin improvement efforts with specific focus on ingredients and key commodities
- Designing and conducting pilot and production scale processes and tests, documenting and evaluating data, writing technical reports and presenting results
- Ingredient, supplier and formula evaluations based on established procedures under guidance of technical professionals
- Support lab and production trials to evaluate formula changes
- Summarize production trial findings to evaluate process changes aiming to reduce cost or improve efficiency
- Work with multidisciplinary teams including personnel from manufacturing, product development, analytical research, quality assurance, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, packaging engineering, equipment manufacturers, and installation contractors
- Designing, troubleshooting, and optimizing manufacturing processes and products
The R&D Formulation group provides technical resources to support the US supply chain.
This includes:
- Hands-on plant optimization and troubleshooting of processes and product formulations
- Validation of reformulation and processes from lab to manufacturing implementation
- Investigation and validation of alternative technologies for existing products
- Identifying, researching, and implementing new technologies to improve supply chain execution
- Execution of strategic commodity projects to improve supply chain flexibility and provide opportunities for margin protection and improvement
- Application of Food Science knowledge and lean / six sigma methodology to analyze data and provide recommendations
- Identification, development and specification of ingredients and/or processes that may be new to KLN or Pet Food, Pet Treat or Confection Industry
- Supporting technical professionals in preparing samples
- Support of manufacturing trials which could include off-shift coverage
What you'll need to be successful at KLN Family Brands/Tuffy's Pet Foods:
Education:
- At the time of employment, must currently be enrolled with good standing as an undergraduate student majoring in Food Science, Animal Science, or a similar program at the sophomore level or higher or Food Science Graduate Student.
Key Competencies:
- Passionate with a strong desire to make a difference
- Intellectually curious and able to deal with ambiguity
- Strong problem solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills
- Ability to apply understanding of sciences (biology, chemistry, food technology, engineering) and mathematics to provide technical support to the business
- Action oriented with good planning and prioritization skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- The ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
- Ability to work both independently and in multidisciplinary groups/teams with a high level of motivation
- Good organizational and interpersonal skills along with creativity, flexibility, and initiative
- A desire to work hands-on in the laboratory, pilot plant, and manufacturing environments with equipment & products.
- Proficiency with common Windows based computer software programs, including Microsoft Office 365 suite
- Experience or familiarity with statistical software is preferred
Requirements:
- Eligibility to work in the United States for any employer
- A valid Drivers’ License and a means of reliable transportation
- Willingness and ability to travel and work in our North American manufacturing facilities or other assignments as required, up to 50% of the time
- Availability to work on a flexible schedule from time to time including off-shifts and weekends
- Ability to lift fifty pounds
- Note: The expectation is to be available to be on-site at the Perham, MN Tuffy’s Pet Foods Office and manufacturing plants, but there may be remote work from home pending the current work environment.
Interns who demonstrate exceptional performance and a passion for our business may have the opportunity for full-time employment upon graduation.
Pay for this position will be a percentage of industry standards based on typical full-time starting salaries, and will depend on your year in school and your timeline to graduation.
If you are interested in this position please submit a resume to
Matt Nagel
218-346-1874
