INGERSOLL-RAND Co.

TECHNOLOGY | CULTURE | BUSINESS
CANDIDATES | SAMPLE JOB LISTINGS | ARTICLES

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

IR is standardizing on Oracle, under UNIX, at six regional data centers, on HP N and L series machines, and IBM RS/6000 SPs (Symmetrical Processors, that gang the RS/6000s). Facilities worldwide that are currently running legacy applications in a mixed hardware environment will be migrating to Oracle's ERP system. IR's distribution centers use Haushahn's automated warehouse systems. This is a Radio-Frequency (RF)-based system in which a pick list is transmitted to a warehouse employee when an order is entered. The transaction includes the location, order number, and quantity of the part being ordered; the part is then put onto a conveyor belt so it can be packed and shipped.

IR has also standardized on Oracle's project development methodology, Application Implementation Methodology (AIM). Legacy systems are a mix of purchased application software and homegrown COBOL systems. CrossWorlds Software's middleware, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) package, is being used to develop the connectivity between legacy applications and the Oracle 11i ERP environments. PTC's (Parametric Technologies Corporation) mechanical engineering and manufacturing engineering application systems, which run on HP, Sun, and NT workstations, are the company's standard and are used throughout the organization.

The company has approximately 25,000 PCs worldwide, and has recently established a global Common Office Environment, with IBM as the standard PC platform. IR's Virtual Private Network (VPN) is supported by AT&T in the United States and Equant internationally. Switches and routers are from Cisco. IR communications are integrated worldwide.

The company is currently in the process of implementing Oracle financials, human resources, and e-procurement systems at their new Global Business Services center in Huntersville, North Carolina. Dedicated application teams convert the company's decentralized operations into a consistent systems environment at the Global Business Services Center. Teams include local IT and functional team members, Oracle SWAT team members for application and business process conversion, and database and technical support team members managing the hardware and software. Each local project lasts approximately four months, but the corporate-wide effort will take about two years to complete. This project will enable IR to share information across its business units, with a unified human resources and financial reporting function, while retaining local manufacturing systems for efficiency and product differentiation purposes.

CULTURE OVERVIEW

IR's Corporate Center is located in Northern New Jersey with sales, distribution, and manufacturing facilities worldwide. Benefits include a range of medical insurance programs, dental insurance, a prescription drug plan, and flexible spending accounts. The company pays for life insurance, funds a pension plan, and contributes to a savings and stock investment program. Tuition for degree programs is reimbursable. There is a savings bonds program and the company matches contributions to colleges. There is a stock purchase program.

Employees are entitled to various discounts on the company's products. The company encourages active participation in professional organizations. There are a number of company-sponsored sports teams, including softball, bowling, and golf.

The dress code is business casual. Working hours vary by location, but are generally flexible between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. An average workweek is 40 hours. Telecommuting is acceptable in some situations. Travel requirements represent approximately five percent of a staff member's time.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Ingersoll-Rand, known informally, and now formally, as IR, has assembled independently-operated manufacturing facilities, which are well-known companies in their own right, along four broad business lines. The Climate Control unit includes recently-acquired Hussman, known for making the freezer equipment Birdseye first used, but also inventor of the first self-service frozen food case, the first patented meat display case, and the first multi-deck dairy merchandiser. This division also includes ThermoKing, which invented the refrigerated truck business in 1938, during a hot Minneapolis summer. The Industrial Productivity unit includes IR's drilling equipment and ARO, founded in 1930 to make lubrication equipment; Torrington, which makes precision bearings; Zimmerman; and Club Car, the golf car manufacturer. The Infrastructure Development unit includes Bobcat, the makers of small loaders and excavators, Blaw-Knox, which makes paving equipment, and IR's own road machinery, drilling solutions, and portable compressor divisions. The Security and Safety unit includes Dor-o-Matic, LCN, Locknetics, Schlage, Steelcraft, and Von Duprin. Steelcraft makes doors and frames. LCN makes the devices that slow the closing of heavy doors. Shchlage invented the doorknob with the central push-button lock. More than 40 percent of the company's revenue comes from outside the United States.

IR's mission is to be the market leader in its business segments.

CANDIDATES

There is a small IT team supporting IR's Corporate Center. The rest of the IT staff are in IT departments supporting the company's business units and regional centers, for a total of 800 worldwide. The average level of education is a Bachelor's degree and 10 to 15 years of experience. Job titles include Core Title C, B, A, Senior, and Lead; IT Manager 1,2,3,4; Senior Technology Specialist; and Vice President. Core Titles represent a specialty area, such as database administration, technical support, or application developer. Fitterer looks for technical competence in Oracle and UNIX, but also, "the ability to work with ambiguity in a dynamic environment."

IR typically hires 30 entry-level professionals a year. The IT Leadership Development Program is one of the chief opportunities for entry-level candidates. It is a 30-month program with rotational assignments, beginning with a two-day assessment of candidates. Candidates are evaluated by a number of IT managers from various business units who have been brought together for this purpose, through a series of interviews and workshops on the first day. Then they are given a case study to prepare. For example, a recent case study asked candidates to write a business plan that would show how to integrate a disparate hardware environment into a single network. Candidates for this program typically have a Bachelor's degree in MIS or CS, a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, summer or co-op job experience, a well-defined career objective that includes a plan for increasing their technical expertise, and the ability to communicate technical objectives to a business audience.

Entry-level and experienced candidates are typically found through a combination of campus job fairs, employment agencies, advertisements, and online recruiting. Turnover is low. Top schools for recruiting include Purdue, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Lehigh, and the University of Minnesota.

ARTICLES

Business Wire, "Ingersoll-Rand Forms E-Business Sector," March 24, 2000

Forbes, "Ingersoll-Rand Gets a Makeover," September 6, 1999

Information Week, "A Company Merges Its Many Units - Successfully," May 8, 2000

Wall Street Journal, "Ingersoll-Rand Uses 'IR' as a Way to Play New-Image Name Game," August 22, 2000