Matthew Slobodianuk, 29
Senior Lean Engineer
Atkore
Matthew joined Atkore—and the industry—in 2022. “I started as a manufacturing engineer and, after a year, was promoted to Lean manufacturing engineer,” he recalled. “I was in that role for about a year and a half before I was promoted to senior Lean engineer.”
Matthew noted that he arrived in the industry by chance. “I received a call from a recruiter for my first role with Atkore while searching for a new job, and the interviews went well,” he explained. “Initially, I was more interested in the role, as opposed to the industry. When I first started, I was very unfamiliar with the electrical industry, but familiar with the Lean methodologies that Atkore was using to transform the business. I ultimately decided to take the role due to Atkore’s willingness to promote from within, leadership’s encouragement of taking initiative for positive change, and the leadership team’s commitment to improving my personal Lean skills. Now that I’ve been in the industry a few years and have a deeper understanding, my biggest appeal is that our products and work that we do can be found all over the world. I came from a smaller, niche industry, and it’s inspiring to see the difference our products make, from conduit to metal framing.”
Asked about a challenge the industry is currently facing, Matthew pointed to ever-changing supply needs. “With construction happening all over the world and frequent timeline shifts, meeting customer demand as a supplier can be challenging,” he said. “In my position, my responsibility is to drive the Lean transformation for the site and foster cultural changes in how we view the business and how we meet customer needs. With that, I have led multiple Kaizen/improvement events to increase reliability of our equipment, increase the quality of our product and increase the adaptability of the plant. We have been able improve such that we can meet demand while shortening overall lead time.”
Looking ahead, Matthew’s next career goal is to move into a position where he is responsible for multiple plants’ Lean transformations. “I am doing this by getting involved in higher level strategy discussions, and by moving the needle here at my current facility. We’re driving for our improvements to become enterprise standards,” he noted. “The way we run maintenance focused events here has already been standardized across Atkore.”
What would Matthew tell someone new to the industry? “Expect change—production schedules change, customer needs change, etc.,” he said. “The people who are successful in this industry, in my opinion, are those who can adapt quickly and thrive in an ever-changing industry.”
Outside of work, Matthew enjoys the outdoors. “I spend a lot of time camping in northern Arizona to escape the heat in Phoenix. I also enjoy tennis and hiking (when it’s not too hot),” he said.
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Each year tED magazine recognizes 30 of the industry’s best and brightest under the age of 35. Please visit tEDmag.com/30Under35 for nomination information and updates about the 2026 program. Questions can be sent to tED Editor Misty Byers at mbyers@naed.org.
Tagged with 2025 30 Under 35, 30 under 35, Atkore, people