Women in Operations: Meet Amy Padrevita
From the plant floor to planning across the whole facility
Amy has been with Ahlstrom for six years, starting as a Production Operator on the Machine 418 Film Line at Windsor Locks. Since moving into her current role as Maintenance Planner, she has built deep, cross-functional knowledge of every machine and department at the site, partnering with Production to keep maintenance schedules and work orders running smoothly.
“A typical day starts with auditing new work orders and reassessing our daily priorities based on plant needs,” she says. A large part of Amy’s time also goes into forward planning for ‘machine down’ days, making sure every part is ordered and contractors are booked well ahead of time.
Come for a job, stay for a career
Amy’s path to Ahlstrom began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was living in Maine, US, and looking to move closer to her family. “A friend who worked at Ahlstrom introduced me to the company. As I did my research, their catchphrase ‘Come for a job and stay for a career’ deeply resonated with me. I wanted long-term stability and growth.”
The physical demands of the plant floor didn’t faze Amy. “When I was told the work environment wasn’t climate-controlled and that I would get dirty, I wasn’t intimidated at all.” Amy attributes this to her time spent working on horse farms, saying she was “already accustomed to demanding physical labor and rugged conditions.” That same toughness has carried her all the way to today. “Six years later, and Ahlstrom’s slogan has proven absolutely true for me.”
Grit, resilience, and lessons from the saddle
Amy is a dedicated equestrian outside of work, and she credits a horse trainer, alongside her Ahlstrom mentors, for shaping how she approaches challenges on the plant floor. “One of my trainers instilled a vital life lesson in me: life’s greatest teacher is failure. Learning how to fall, get back up, analyze what went wrong, and adjust with patience has given me a deep sense of resilience.”
That exact mindset transfers directly into her work, allowing her to stay calm during equipment breakdowns and other unexpected operational challenges. This ability to remain level-headed is at the core of what she believes makes a successful floor operator: “Having a good head on your shoulders means you have the situational awareness to make smart, safe, and logical decisions on the spot, even when things get chaotic.”
Growth built into the culture
Amy sees her own journey from operator to planner as proof of what Ahlstrom makes possible. “Having a growth mindset isn’t just encouraged here – it’s deeply embedded as one of our core company values,” she says.
For anyone weighing up a career at Ahlstrom, Amy keeps her advice simple: “Be confident in yourself and never be afraid to roll up your sleeves, ask questions, and learn the processes from the ground up.”
“You are in the room for a reason, so trust yourself from day one.”
