Pros
The trade show exhibits designed and constructed at Derse are impressive. The Milwaukee facility has a nice and modern cosmetic appearance and incorporates modern technology for IT and in the conference rooms.
Cons
The training received was incomplete to the promised schedule and the assigned "mentor" at the time of hire was non-existent in providing assistance and supporting my success. Be aware that the shop is unionized, and many aspects of the union do affect overall company policies, culture, and will also affect what you can and cannot do in your job role. Also, the shop hours are different from the office hours which provides a misaligned environment for deadlines and daily work flow. Expect to be "on call" seven days a week, particularly during busy show seasons. The 30% travel requirement was made clear up front, however the "available all the time via cell phone" nature of the business is something that was not communicated up front and provides a poor work/life balance with hours per week that can easily exceed 50+. The internal operating system is a hybrid of different formats, leading to different departments using different report formats, and cumbersome duplication of lengthy work between the estimating and written sales order processes. Waste is also present, from scrapping display materials and components, to invoicing at large margins that consume client marketing budgets under foggy pretense. Both the hiring and exit experiences with HR had unprofessional elements to them including missed phone calls and inaccurate information on paperwork. Other reviews speak of an "every person for themselves" and "throwing under the bus" setting which I also experienced, even on the very team I was supporting. Last, if you do not like climbing stairs, the office layout is not good since nearly all the "desk" jobs are located on the second level accessed by two separate staircases (in addition to one elevator.)