Each time customers open a new batch of reagents for a Luminex platform, they count on us to deliver a reliable, high-quality product that will allow them to generate accurate results. Hence, we rely on people like Chase Carter, Lead Maintenance Technician, to ensure that customers get only the best products. He joined Luminex in 2018 and earned his mechanic certification at the Universal Technical Institute.
Q: What are your responsibilities at Luminex?
A: I am responsible for keeping the V1 automation lines and V2 manual lines running, and fixing them when they go down. I came on when Luminex had just bought Nanosphere, which was basically a start-up, so the machines had just been put into place for production. I’m pretty proud of having those machines running at scale now.
Q: How did you get started on this career path?
A: I started off in cars, believe it or not. I wanted to pursue cars — hot rods, things like that. I put myself through school while working machine maintenance jobs, which led to bigger and better machines. I got certified in mechanics with Porsche and Audi but never actually pursued it because I fell into machine production and maintenance instead. On an assembly line, it’s cool to see one station communicating to the next. Each one tells the next whether it did a good job or a bad job, and each robot responds to that information before deciding whether to proceed with assembling the part. It’s always interesting and never the same. I’m always learning something new.
Q: What drew you to Luminex?
A: This is the first time I’ve worked with a company that can actually help people by having an impact on health. It’s great to feel like I’m making a difference for my fellow humans.
Q: If you could solve any clinical or genetic challenge, what would it be?
A: It would definitely be cancer. I’d like to see that disappear.
Q: If you weren’t at Luminex, where would you be?
A: I probably would be building race cars.
Q: What is something about you that no one at Luminex knows?
A: I’m a hopeless romantic. They will never guess that one! I come across as kind of a tough guy. “Rough around the edges,” I’ve been told.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Chicago on the weekend?
A: I’m north of Chicago, more in the country. My ideal weekend is hanging out with my dog at the house. I got a little rescue pit bull a few months ago and we’ve just been enjoying each other. I’m happy that she is a happy dog now. We live right on the river, and it’s peaceful to enjoy the sound it makes flowing along with some tunes and the crackle of a bonfire. Can’t beat it.