Sharonville Team Member Upcycles Old Parts into Masterpieces

Sharonville Transmission Plant toolmaker Diem Nguyen has been upcycling for years, turning discarded scrap metal and worn-out machinery parts into beautiful clocks for retirees.

Prior to joining STP in June 2021, Nguyen worked at Kellogg’s for 18 years as a mechanic. For his last dozen years there, he put his mechanical, tool & die, welding and millwright skills to use by crafting one-of-a-kind clocks for teammates when they retired. 

“I got the idea kind of put together and a bunch of guys came over to add ideas,” Nguyen said. “One guy helped me with the woodworking.”

Nguyen built up a stash of parts by saving discarded machinery parts and scrap metal from the dumpster. He would label and save the parts for specific people so that when they retired, their clock would contain parts from the machines they had run.

“Everyone would get a different one,” he said. “I didn't want anybody to have the same one.”

Even the wooden clock bases were crafted from pieces of the old wooden floor at the Kellogg’s plant that were saved when the floor was replaced with concrete.

In all, Nguyen estimates he made more than 30 clocks. The only new parts he added to some of them were various remote-controlled lights, some of which display more than 25 color combinations.

At Kellogg’s, Nguyen was part of the International American Machinists union along with around 50 fellow workers, so he was able to keep up with the clockmaking for retirees in his spare time.

“I wanted them to have a piece of memory go with them when they retired,” said Nguyen. “They spent so much of their life there.”

When asked if he might begin making clocks for STP retirees, Nguyen laughed.

“I would love to,” he said, “but there are so many people here, we’d need a whole department!”