August Industry Watch: People

BLUM LMT, INC. (ERLANGER, KY) . . .
named Adam Goyer as its new West Coast regional sales manager. He is the main contact for all West Coast customers and works alongside Marty Caranchini, BLUM's service representative and experienced systems integrator for the area. Goyer's experience in manufacturing and knowledge of various machine tools dates back to his youth, having grown up with continuous exposure to his family's integration and machine tool repair business.

"The family business instilled in me an understanding for how critical a manufacturing base is here in this country," says Goyer. "Anything I can do to help a shop, factory, cell, or process run smoother, faster, with more accuracy, precision, or uptime is right up my alley." Before joining BLUM, he worked in sales at a Fortune 500 company, promoting 3D scanning equipment for reverse engineering and rapid prototyping. www.blum-novotest.com

WENZEL/XSPECT SOLUTIONS (WIXOM,MI) . . .
appointed Andy Woodward as the new general manager of North American Operations and Giles Gaskell as the new North American sales manager for 3D Imaging Products. Woodward has been managing director for Wenzel's UK operations for the past eight years. For 15 years prior to that, he worked for Hexagon Metrology in various engineering and general management positions at their DEA and Brown & Sharpe operations in the UK.

"I intend to continue to build on the solid business model for metrology equipment and services that Xspect Solutions has created over the past six years," says Woodward. "By combining our broad customer base and marketing network with our gear measuring machine technology and expanding 3D scanning products, we should be able to make additional market penetration in related product and industry areas here in North America." He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Birmingham University in the UK. He and his family are relocating to the Detroit metropolitan area.

"We continue to broaden our product base through the addition of unique new 3D imaging technologies that complement our CMM metrology products," adds Woodward. "As a result, we are focusing new sales and marketing resources to help develop markets for these new products in North America. Giles Gaskell will direct those efforts and bring a wealth of technical and business development experience in the areas of non-contact scanning for reverse engineering and 3D imaging technology. He has worked with many of Europe's most prestigious design, engineering and manufacturing companies on reverse engineering and non-contact inspection projects."

Gaskell comes to the company from GKS-Laser Design, where he was the business development manager. Prior to that, he had been the director of business development for NVision, a manufacturer of non-contact measurement and 3D imaging hardware and software. He also founded 3D Scanners Ltd., a UK-based manufacturer that introduced the first hand-held laser scanners to the UK market. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from Aston University in Birmingham, England, and a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He and his family reside in Linden, MI.www.xspectsolutions.com

BARTON MINES COMPANY
(GLENS FALLS, NY) . . .
appointed Tom Riggs as regional sales manager for the Central region, replacing Scott Trom, who was promoted to market manager for the Blast Media Division. The Central region territory includes AK, CO, IA, KS, MI, MA, ND, NE, NM, OK and SD. In this position, Riggs will educate the waterjet and blast media markets on the value of garnet abrasives and work to maximize customer satisfaction. He has extensive experience in industries where garnet abrasives are used and more than 18 years of experience working with metal forming and fabrication equipment, including waterjet systems. www.barton.com

CML USA, INC. ERCOLINA (DAVENPORT, IA) . . .
announced that Mike Robbins of MH Metal will serve as Ercolina's manufacturer's representative responsible for Wisconsin and Illinois. The company manufactures tube, pipe and profile bending and metalworking machinery. www.ercolina-usa.com

DELCAM (BIRMINGHAM, UK) . . .
announced that Aaron Kennette has joined the Technical Support group based out of Windsor, Ontario, and John Sare is joining the Toronto sales group covering central and northern Ontario. Kennette spent the past 12 years running a variety of 3- , 5- and 6-axis machines to machine highly complex molds for the plastic industry. His real-world experience in programming with Delcam software at one of the top five North American moldmakers makes him an excellent addition to the current support team that aids technical support for Canada and the U.S.

Sare joins the sales group covering Central and Northern Ontario. He spent 29 years in the manufacturing industry, the last ten in managing sales channels in Europe for GibbsCAM and subsequently Delcam. He brings a wealth of knowledge of global manufacturing to the team. His experience with global machine partners will help companies that wish to make more effective use of their machine tools in order to better streamline their processes.

"Since taking over the Greater Toronto area direct, we have increased the Toronto office support from one salesman to three and added two application engineers. Increasing our sales team here has been greatly influenced by the sheer volume of companies interested in moving to our complete software suite to boost productivity, improve quality and reduce lead times," said Mark Cadogan, vice president, Delcam Sales North America. www.delcam.com

BUCKEYE SHAPEFORM (COLUMBUS, OH). . .
named David A. Todd as engineering manager over design, quoting, continuous improvement, production and customer support for electronic enclosure fabrication and deep drawn products. "We are pleased to have him on the Buckeye Shapeform team. His extensive experience and knowledge of manufacturing engineering technology will be a great asset to our company and will greatly benefit our clients," said Ken Tumblison, president of Buckeye Shapeform.

Todd joined Buckeye Shapeform in May. He grew up in Nichols, SC, and graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. His certifications include Certified 6 Sigma Black Belt, granted by Robbins International and Breakthrough Technologies, and he is certified in Lean System by the University of Kentucky. www.buckeyeshapeform.com

WHEELABRATOR GROUP (LAGRANGE, GA) . . .
announced that Humberto Juarez joined Wheelabrator Plus as regional manager for Mexico to lead the Monterrey-based engineering and customer service team to support aftermarket parts, service, equipment modernization programs and technical support requirements. He now has overall responsibility for managing and directing sales growth and industry best practices for all aftermarket sales growth operations, including OEM parts, Parallel parts and Equipment Modernization Programs (EMP) in Mexico. He is an Industrial/IT engineer from the Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila and comes from Pace Industries with 20 years experience in industrial sales, service, manufacturing and supply chain. www.wheelabratorgroup.com

KUKA ROBOTER GMBH
(CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI) . . .

named Michael Albert as new chief financial officer. Upon completion of his studies in Augsburg, he worked five years at a major auditing company and three years for the Kirch Group (Kirch Media), and was most recently director of finance at SÜSS MicroTec AG. www.kuka.com

LENOX (EAST LONGMEADOW, MA) . . .
named Myra Lee as the new director of marketing communications, responsible for enhancing brand equity and consistency and building marketing programs in partnership with product and channel teams. She previously worked at United Technologies Corporation for ten years in product management, strategic planning, investor relations and corporate communications. Lee also worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Russia. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and her MBA from The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

"Her experience in HVAC marketing and global communications is a great asset to our marketing team," stated Rich Mathews, vice president of marketing. "Our company has delivered innovative, high-quality, reliable solutions for more than 90 years and we look forward to having her as part of our team as we move into our next 90 years." Susan Spalding, the former director of marketing communications, moved to the Rubbermaid Commercial Products division of Newell Rubbermaid, where she is now the director of marketing communications. www.lenoxtools.com

MAZAK CANADA (FLORENCE, KY) . . .
appointed Charles Attard as customer finance manager, responsible for aiding customers in arranging financing for new machine investments. Over the course of a 30 year career, Attard held a wide variety of positions within the financial industry. Most recently, he was responsible for operating another major machine tool builder's financing program for Canada.

"He brings the level of expertise that customers have come to expect from our personnel," says Ray Buxton, general manager of Mazak Canada. "His extensive experience in the financial sector will provide customers with an incredible resource when they're seeking the best financing option for a new investment. We're truly excited to welcome him to our team." www.mazakusa.com

METHODS MACHINE TOOLS, INC.
(SUDBURY, MA) . . .
appointed Mr. Paul Hurtig as Feeler product manager. "We're pleased to have him in this new position," commented Bryon Deysher, president and CEO of MMT. "His impressive track record and unique mix of experience in various positions, including machine tool product development, sales support, service and international logistics, make him the ideal candidate for this new role. He will be instrumental in launching our new Methods-Feeler line." Hurtig has been a Methods' employee for 29 years and held various managerial positions throughout the company. www.methodsmachine.com

SODICK, INC. (SCHAUMBURG, IL) . . .

appointed Ramiro Perucho as national service manager. He has worked in the machine tool industry for over 12 years and has a vast amount of knowledge in EDM machining. His first two years at Sodick were as a service engineer, then he moved to assistant service manager for another two years, then became the Midwest service manager for eight years. He was recently promoted to national service manager. "He has been a valuable member of our team and we are excited to see him move into this new role, where he will use his knowledge and experience to grow our service department," said Dave Thomas, president of Sodick.

Perucho has implemented major changes to the customer support department that increased overall department efficiency, and he was on an implementation team for a new national call center. Both of these projects have been a huge success and led to significant improvements in the way the service department operates. www.sodick.com

TRUMPF (FARMINGTON, CT) . . .
appointed Tracey Ryba as product manager, lasers, and Frank Geyer as product manager, laser systems, for the Laser Technology Center in Plymouth, MI. They now report to David Havrilla, manager of products and applications for the Laser division. Ryba earned his degree in laser and electro-optics technology and has 21 years of laser experience, ranging from applications to product management.

Ryba's processing knowledge spans laser marking, cutting, and welding and includes integration experience with CNC motion systems and robotics, serving the electronics, medical and automotive markets. Geyer began his career in the automotive industry and has an extensive background in engineering, mechanical design and manufacturing. His knowledge in advanced material processing includes Nd:YAG and fiber laser experience in integration, programming and setup. www.us.trumpf.com

WILDECK, INC. (WAUKESHA, WI) . . .
appointed Michael R. Galezio to quality assurance/safety manager for its North American operations. "We continue to expand our portfolio of material handling and safety products that can improve the efficiency, safety, and profitability of distribution centers, warehouses, and manufacturing operations," stated Keith G. Pignolet, president of Wildeck. "To more effectively coordinate our lean manufacturing initiatives and continue to manufacture the high quality products we are known for in the industry, I am extremely pleased to welcome him to our employee-owned team."

To support the company's aggressive business growth, Galezio reports directly to the president and is responsible for facility and personnel safety, and streamlining company procedures to reduce cycle times and improve work-flow. He is a graduate of Yavapai College, Prescott, AZ with a degree in Manufacturing Technologies. He brings over 18 years of industry-related quality and lean experience from several manufacturing companies.

Previous accomplishments as a quality and manufacturing engineer have included upgrading production routing formats and providing detailed work instructions for production personnel. He also managed, maintained and upgraded ISO 9000:1994 programs to stringent ISO 9001:2000 standards and led lean manufacturing initiatives (kaizen) to reduce and eliminate waste in multiple production cells. Galezio also streamlined First Piece Inspection Systems, reducing average inspection time by approximately 55 percent, and has led Value Stream work teams in coordinating Lean and 5S activities, resulting in a 50 percent scrap reduction. www.wildeck.com

DME (MADISON HEIGHTS, MI) . . .
hired two new field sales representatives: Jim Martin for Northern Illinois and Iowa; and Gary Horn for Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and western Tennessee. Martin comes to DME from IL-based Kirko Machinery, where he served as sales manager/engineer for a variety of OEM products and services, including molding machines, robots, auxiliary equipment and nano-based products. He has previous experience designing tool control solutions for military applications, specifically tool storage packaging, at FCE Industries. Horn's previous experience includes positions as tool/project engineering for Plastic Masters, senior program manager for United Technologies, director of program management, Ford Motor Group for LDM Technologies, senior supplier quality project engineer for GM Worldwide Purchasing and program manager/senior plastics engineer for AGS Automotive Systems. "They are both highly knowledgeable additions to our sales force," said Dave Lange, director of sales. "They understand our customers' businesses and will offer valuable assistance helping them select molding systems best suited to their applications and budgets. www.dme.net

EXSYS TOOL,INC. (SAN ANTONIO, FL) . . .
appointed Arturo Lozano to national product manager in Mexico for the Kitagawa-NorthTech line of products. EXSYS Tool was named exclusive distributor of Kitagawa-NorthTech workholding solutions for Mexico earlier this year. His career in the machine tool business began in 1998 as a sales representative for Hi-Tec de Mexico, a distributor of Haas and Mori Seiki products. Over the past decade, he has worked in multiple positions that provided experience with Okuma, Mazak and DMG products as well. "Throughout the course of his career, he has acquired substantial experience across a broad range of the machine tool industry," said Stewart Bachmann, president of EXSYS Tool. "He brings considerable expertise to our operations in Mexico and we are very excited to be welcoming him to our family." As national product manager, Lozano provides support to the sales team for any Kitagawa-NorthTech equipment and serves as the direct contact for both Kitagawa-NorthTech and Tecnara in Mexico. exsys-tool.com

HILL ENGINEERING (CAROL STREAM, IL) . . .
promoted Paul Williams to sales and marketing manager. He has over 26 years experience in the tool and die and roll forming industries as a toolmaker, field service technician, die design engineer and sales application engineer and has been with Hill Engineering since 1988. Williams has been a speaker and conference chairman for PMA, FMA and SME conferences and authored technical articles in leading industry publications. He is currently chairman of FMA's Roll forming and Technology Council. He is responsible for establishing selling strategies for rotary punching units, HHP and HX series Hydraulic Presses, HAP series air presses and stationary and flying punching and cutoff dies for the roll forming and stamping industries, along with interfacing marketing and application engineering efforts with the company's network of regional sales managers and independent representatives. www.hillengr.com

WILMINGTON MACHINERY
(WILMINGTON, NC) . . .

appointed Andreas Lehnhofer to operation manager/product manager, injection molding division. He brings 20 years of worldwide experience in engineering, design, application and sales from two of the largest injection, extrusion and automation machine builders in the world, Battenfeld, USA /Austria, and Krauss-Maffei USA (Munich, Germany). His most recent post was operations manager for three automotive plants in the U.S., Mexico and Germany. He earned an MS in mechanical engineering in Vienna, Austria, and a BS in production management. www.wilmingtonmachinery.com