Folding Machine Operator

Humans are often praised for being original. People who are just a tiny bit different than everyone else tend to stand out, and they receive extra praise for their uniqueness. In the world of manufacturing, however, being different means being rejected. Everything must be uniform and indistinguishable.

A Folding Machine Operator has a large role to play in ensuring conformity. As a Folding Machine Operator, you make creases in fabric or paper, making sure each fold is exactly the same as the one that came before it.

Folding Machine Operators tend to specialize in one specific type of raw material. In other words, you fold either paper or fabric. Your machine isn’t designed to work with both types of materials.

If you work with fabric, your job is to prepare the items for the Sewing Machine Operator. Bits of fabric arrive at your workstation, with notes about how they should be folded. Often, you use your machine to create cuffs, pockets, and collars, but you can also create fancy pleats, if required.

You load the fabric onto the machine, program it to make the right sort of folds, and then start the process. When the item is complete, you place it in a box and move on to the next scrap.

If you work with paper, printed pieces come from the Press Operator and you fold them into perfect points. Sometimes, you use your machine to make three folds in a flyer so it can fit into an envelope. Other times, you make the envelopes themselves. You load in the paper, program the machine, turn it on, and take out the finished product.