corporate culture

Rocking Out with the Promega Band: Major Groove!

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
Promega employees playing with the band Major Groove
A group of Promega employees rehearses their set for the Employee Recognition Meeting reception

Have you ever heard Guns ‘n’ Roses and Lizzo in the same concert?

When the Promega employee band Major Groove takes the stage, you never know what they might play!

The Promega band started with a handful of employees in 2006 and has grown to include more than 50 active musicians. Today, they play at company meetings, picnics, art shows and much more.

“During my interview process, I was sent a list of links to learn more about Promega. I was like, “Hold the phone! This company has a band!” says Kathryn Sauter, a Business Analyst on the Global Logistics team. “I never thought I’d have an opportunity to participate in a musical extracurricular activity at a place where I work. Promega immediately shot to the top of my list.”

Continue reading “Rocking Out with the Promega Band: Major Groove!”

Promega Sourcing Over 20% of Global Electricity from Renewable Sources

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

Last summer, we announced our most ambitious sustainability goals ever. This year, as part of our annual reporting, we are proud to share that over 20% of our global electricity is supplied by renewable sources. This represents a ten-fold increase in our renewable energy usage over the past three years.

Continue reading “Promega Sourcing Over 20% of Global Electricity from Renewable Sources”

Promega Included On 2022 Top Workplaces USA List

Posted on by Riley Bell
Top Workplaces 2022 Logo

Promega Corporation has been named among the best places to work in the USA with a 2022 Top Workplaces USA Award. The Top Workplaces USA list, announced on February 1, is a program run by research firm Energage to recognize high-performing companies based solely on employee engagement surveys. The surveys measure the level of connection, motivation, and commitment employees feel for their companies.

Energage believes that improving engagement can directly impact performance, innovation, retention, and talent attraction. The 2022 USA winner’s list is calculated by comparing the survey’s research-based statements to predict high performance against industry benchmarks.

I am able to perform science in an environment that makes me feel as though I’m growing as a researcher…

—Promega Employee Survey Response

A Culture of Work-Life Balance

Promega also earned a “culture badge” for Work-Life Balance. Employee feedback showed this factor to be the company’s strongest culture driver. Culture badges are earned for scores that are in the top 25% of organizations in the same benchmark. 

Promega Director of HR Organizational Development, Darbie Miller points out how much Promega employees value the flexibility to flourish both at work and at home. “It is meaningful to all of us that employees continue to experience a culture that prioritizes flexibility to balance work and personal life. We are honored to receive this recognition and also to understand how to continue to evolve the employee experience at Promega.”

My co-workers care, I do work that makes me feel empowered, and I have the flexibility to be a real person with a real life.

—Promega Employee Survey Response

#LifeAtPromega

Promega offers welcoming careers where employees can stay, contribute and grow. We challenge our employees to change the world, to have more fun, to bring their full selves to work— in short, to take on a career that means more. At Promega, our employees do just that. Here, employees play a role in solving the world’s most pressing problems, experience camaraderie, gain satisfaction and get reward. We challenge ourselves to improve our local communities, to create an open, inviting and inclusive culture, to foster a work environment where collaborative givers, continuous learners, and ambitious go-getters thrive.

Our employees make an award like this possible, and we are grateful for the talent they bring every day. With an eye toward the future, we will continue to build on a culture that values science, sustainable business, and human well-being. We believe that every one of our employees has the potential to make a meaningful difference. And they do.

“It [my job] allows me to contribute to the betterment of mankind, the advancement of science, and success of my friends.”

—Promega Employee Survey Response
Word cloud generated from Promega Employee responses to survey
The Top Workplaces survey asked employees what three words best describe Promega culture. This word cloud reflects the employee responses.

It [my role] allows me to be my natural, gifted, independent self while accomplishing the greater goals of the company and being part of something spectacular.

—Promega Employee Survey Response

Promega is a leader in providing innovative solutions and technical support to the life sciences industry. We are committed to science advancement for improving life in the global community. With branches in16 countries and over 50 global distributors serving over 100 countries

Our tools and technologies support a wide range of work. This includes cell biology, protein analysis, drug development, human identification, and molecular diagnostics. Promega products are used in labs for academic and government research, forensics, pharmaceuticals, clinical diagnostics, and agricultural and environmental testing.

Discover a career at Promega that will give you the opportunity you need to make a difference.

Are you a student who is exploring possible careers outside of academia? Industry has many opportunities for scientists. Read some of our careers blogs to learn more.

Relate Posts


The Power of Vulnerability

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog is written by Malynn Utzinger, Director of Integrative Practices, and Tim Weitzel, ESI Architect.

If we want to reignite innovation and passion, we must rehumanize work.

-Silicon Valley CEO of Several Start-ups

If we want to rehumanize work, we need to be more human in the workplace.

-Promega’s ESI Bootcamp

Vulnerability is the birthplace of intimacy, trust connection, creativity, innovation. For leaders, it is the birthplace of trusted influence. But it is not permission to overshare.

-Brené Brown

Myths of Vulnerability

It’s important that we start off by making a few things about vulnerability crystal clear:  being vulnerable is not about over-sharing, being emotional—or worse, gushy. It is not about sacrificing necessary boundaries or letting go of all discernment when speaking. Vulnerability, as we intend it, is about being real with others. It is about being clear and honest enough within yourself that you can use courage and clarity to state a need or a perspective. Quite the opposite of requiring tears or grand displays of emotion, vulnerability can be expressed with utter command of one’s emotions, so that the clarity and authenticity of the message is what remains.

Vulnerability is also knowing that you cannot know everything or do your work perfectly or even to your full satisfaction sometimes, and it is having this same understanding and acceptance for others. It is being able to speak to that honestly so that we can build sustainable bridges between ourselves and others. We call this speaking our truths–with discernment.

Finally, vulnerability is knowing that while we must give our best efforts where and whenever we can, we must also know what we can’t control.  In most cases, what we cannot control is outcomes.  Therefore, vulnerability is embracing the uncertainty in how things will go in our relationships and in our work if we risk emotional exposure.  We cannot always know how others will hear what we share, but we can learn to take that risk and speak in service to a common goal.  For example, we might decide to share that the reason we are being so obsessive or insistent on a process is because of a past failure (perceived or real) that we still carry with us.  Even though we cannot control what others will think of our story, we trust that the sharing may help them share a need of their own or to hear our own need differently, so that we can all work together.  This is true in every relationship of our lives, where we learn to share something true for the sake of allowing another human being to know us as we are. 

Continue reading “The Power of Vulnerability”

Tidying Up With Promega R&D: Spectrometer From Space?

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

Later this year, Promega will open a new R&D building with more than twice the current amount of lab space available on the Madison campus. While preparing to move to the new building, R&D scientists are cleaning out decades of scientific history housed in some of the older labs. Meagan Eggers, Promega Strategic Information Partner, is collaborating with the research groups to document and preserve noteworthy artifacts unearthed in the Research & Development Center. Over the next few months, we’ll showcase some of the most interesting things we find.

Spectrometer – 1960s-2000

Promega research scientists began investigating bioluminescent proteins in the early 1990s. One of the most important tools in this research was the spectrometer pictured above, which was used to measure the emission spectra of many different organisms. Before it arrived at Promega, however, this spectrometer began in the space program.

Continue reading “Tidying Up With Promega R&D: Spectrometer From Space?”

Stakeholder Capitalism—40 Years Later

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog is written by guest blogger, Penny Patterson, VP Corporate Communications at Promega.

The idea that businesses need to serve and provide value to constituents in addition to shareholders is one that has gained increasing recognition since last summer when the Business Roundtable issued its “Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation.”   The topic of what some call “stakeholder capitalism” surfaced again heading into the World Economic Forum in January 2020.

Promega has practiced “stakeholder capitalism” for more than 40 years and, as we’ve shared through our corporate responsibility reporting for the last decade, we have seen meaningful impact. From our founding in 1978, we have taken a “whole human” approach to our business. For us this means growing a financially stable and profitable company that considers and benefits science, employees, customers, community, shareholders and all global residents.

This approach starts with our people. We live the notion that every one of our employees has the potential to make a meaningful difference. And they do. Here are just a few examples. Our manufacturing and operations teams deliver with 99% accuracy and a complaint rate of 0.004%.  Discoveries by our R&D scientists generate some of the most read papers among key science journals. The average tenure of our leadership team is 18 years, and over half of these leaders grew their careers and capabilities at Promega.

Continue reading “Stakeholder Capitalism—40 Years Later”

Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee

Posted on by Karen Burkhartzmeyer

The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.
The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.

Woods Hollow Children’s Center is a prominent feature on the Promega Madison campus, due not only to the building’s distinctive red metal roof, but also the sights, sounds and energy that emanate from it. Playground laughter echoes across the prairie, little ones with their teachers stop in to explore the art at the Promega gallery, children and scientists alike share the meandering paths between lab, manufacturing and office buildings.

The fully accredited child center for children 6 weeks to 10 years old has been part of the Promega community since 1991 when the company built and began financially supporting Woods Hollow, making it available to employees as well as families in the surrounding community. (Promega employees do not receive a break in tuition, but they are given priority for admission. And Promega funding allows Woods Hollow to keep operating costs down while also being able to hire top teachers and offer them competitive wages.)

During its 27 years in operation, the center has served more than 2000 families, many of those with multiple children. It is natural to assume that someday perhaps at least a few of those kids would grow up to work at Promega.

Meet Promega Distribution Services Specialist, and Woods Hollow alum, Tyler Kalish. Continue reading “Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee”

What I Learned at My First Branch Meeting: Gratitude, Service and Collaboration

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog post is written by guest blogger Sarah Kolb, Marketing Coordinator for our North America Branch, and new employee at Promega.

As a new member to the North America Marketing team, I was unsure of what to expect going into my first national sales meeting with Promega, but what I took away from this meeting was incredibly eye opening. The North America Branch Sales meeting is an opportunity to get all of the members of the North American branch together to learn about new products, connect with the different strategic business units about product application and network with each other to learn how to better the lives of our customers. The year’s meeting occurred in May in the Ideation room at Promega Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.

NA branch meeting

The room itself is not your typical conference space. An antique car resides in the space, and you can find art-work from all over world nestled in corners, and on the walls and shelves. All around the room, collections of unique furniture are arranged to stimulate conversation. Ideation created an atmosphere of creativity, community and collaboration, which contributed to the overall success of the meeting.

I felt excitement Monday morning as the 62 attendees gathered in the space. Everyone greeted each other with big smiles and hugs, asking about families, travels and already discussing business. Continue reading “What I Learned at My First Branch Meeting: Gratitude, Service and Collaboration”

In the Moment with Promega Software Designer, Dave Romanin

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

26062334-portrait-WEBWhen Dave Romanin came to work for Promega he was fresh out of school with a degree in bacteriology. His plan was to work for a year in manufacturing and then go back to graduate school. But in the end, he didn’t go. There was no incentive, he explains, for him to spend five years in graduate school making little to no money. He didn’t want to write grants or run his own lab, and he enjoyed what he was doing.

Twenty‐four years later, Dave is still here. He’s moved around a bit, first manufacturing, then dispensing, kit packaging and then on to software development with Lou Mezei. Their first software project was a quality control software to capture data from the scales weighing bottles to ensure they were filled correctly. His experience in manufacturing helped him understand what the program needed to do and helped him define the specifications for the software for the programmer. He has been designing software for the last 10 years, and has worked on projects for everyone from marketing to manufacturing.

He describes his job, in part, as a game of cat and mouse. Dave spends hours testing the software, trying to find the weaknesses the developer didn’t anticipate—in essence, trying to break it. When he finds something that throws the software off or causes it to crash, he and the programmer decide on the next steps. Sometimes it is an easy fix, and sometimes they have to decide if it is worth what it would take to fix it. Would a user be likely to ever do what Dave did? Continue reading “In the Moment with Promega Software Designer, Dave Romanin”

Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson

Posted on by Michele Arduengo
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson

When he was a kid, Matt Hanson would disappear into the basement for an entire day and emerge later with a completed model of the USS Constitution or a completed robot or a new rocket (he still makes model rockets). Design and how things fit together have always fascinated him, so a career in science was a natural fit as well.

Today Matt is a Quality Control Supervisor/QA Senior Scientist at Promega Corporation at the Madison, WI, USA, campus. He has been with Promega for 5 years now.

After completing his undergraduate studies in molecular biology, a masters in zoology where he focused on cell biology, and a PhD in developmental biology and immunology, Matt was fortunate to pursue a successful and rewarding career as an Associate Staff Scientist in the Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focused on diabetes and transplantation biology.

So why did Matt join the scientific staff at Promega?

Continue reading “Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson”