november-december 2021 - 33

Matthew Sornig
Matthew Sornig is the controls development supervisor for
Jervis B. Webb, a Daifuku company, and has been with the
company for 12 years and in his current role for two years.
Sornig describes how he came to be with Jervis B. Webb as
a " whirlwind. "
Age: 35
Hometown: Royal Oak,
Michigan
Alma Mater: Kettering
University
Someone I look up to in the
industry: Todd Alderman
Fun fact about yourself:
I'm a new father, who enjoys
watching Red Wings hockey
and traveling to new places.
My favorite thing about
aviation is: How it gives
people the ability to fly
Sornig graduated in 2008 and, like many at the time, had
difficulty finding a job. As part of his undergrad program at
Kettering University, Sornig was required to write a thesis for
his co-op employer. When he went to pick up a copy of it, he
told his supervisor the poor luck he was having finding work.
They told him they might know of an opportunity with one of
their customers - Webb.
Sornig reached out and the rest, as he said, is history.
After working in airports for a few years, Sornig discovered
his knack for programming and system design. He has been
involved in several R&D projects and a few projects that
required lots of customized controls code, which has led him
to where he is today.
" You know, if you'd asked me 10 years ago, what do you want
to do in 10 years? I'd be like, 'I want to be in this position that
I'm in today.' So, it's really nice to see that be able to come to
fruition all because I just said yes to a job opportunity that I
had had no idea what I was walking into, " Sornig said.
Sornig leads the team of engineers that write all the code for
all of the projects for the baggage handling side of Webb. The
10-person team develops code, creates custom and standard
PLC and SCADA products, supports installations and retrofits,
and provides long-term support for baggage systems.
" The one thing I really like is that every day is kind of different.
There's a lot of complexity to what we do to design an airport
baggage system that has a thousand conveyors and getting
bags from point A to point B, but also maintaining secure
tracking of them and making sure that passenger bags make
it to the airplane, " Sornig said.
Every baggage system is unique, and custom solutions are
required to ensure that each piece works as part of the broader
system. This makes the work of developing PLCs and graphics
modules innovative by nature. As Sornig describes, it's solving
the same problem over and over, but each time in a unique way.
Sornig played a key role on 10 airport projects, eight Daifuku
affiliate projects and on the development of Daifuku's Innovation
and Training Center.
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