At age 23, Julian Margitza ’16 is graduating from Thomas College with Business Management degree, and was recently promoted to Purchasing Manager at F3 MFG Inc.

Margitza, a Waterville, Maine native, didn’t always know he wanted to work in the business field. His passion for business started when was inspired to open up his own pizza place when he worked as a delivery driver for Cappza’s Pizza as a college student.

“Now, I have this great new opportunity – and I’m really excited where it will take me.”

A year ago, Margitza began working at F3 MFG Inc., formerly known as Magnum Manufacturing Inc., a company that produces commercial trucking equipment exclusively with aluminum.

“I started out sweeping floors, and understanding how the product is built,” he said. “I learned how to install bodies and to weld, and now I’m in the office.”

A few months ago, he was promoted to Purchasing Manager. Margitza credits his success to his time at Thomas College.

“I can take a lot of different things from my experience and my classes at Thomas to what I do now,” he said. “I learned about purchasing in my operations management class where we talked about the flow of the raw materials to finished goods – and I see that a lot with that I’m doing.”

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Margitza didn’t start his college career at Thomas College.

“I originally went to the University of Maine at Orono because I wanted to get away from home for a little bit,” he said. “I wish I would have gone to Thomas right from the beginning.”

Margitza said his two years at UMO was not a good fit. His smallest class was 250 students.

“I love the atmosphere at Thomas, and especially the class sizes,” he said. “The professors were very helpful.”

Now, Margitza has his own office and is in charge of inventory; he manages the ordering and purchasing of supplies for the company.

Margitza says he loves his job.

“I like seeing the raw material become a finished product. That’s probably the coolest part. I go from ordering online, arriving to the shop, applied on the floor, and then out the door.”

Margitza is also part of his very first professional committee: the Welding Committee. He is working in partnership with KVCC to train students to weld. The company F3 MFG is donating equipment and aluminum for the students to practice with.

“I’m working with the professor of the welding course right now and he’s coming in to see what we do so he can catch up with what he needs to teach next year,” he said. “And the best part is that the students are ready to work once they get here.”

Right now, F3 MFG has about 25 employees; they hope to have 50 employees by the end of the year. Eventually, they hope to expand to the West Coast, which is where they distribute their materials to.

Next, Margitza plans to learn about the financial side of the company. His goal is to one day work his way up and own this company.