September Industry Watch: People

FOREST CITY GEAR (ROSCOE, IL) . . .
hired Joe Luy as quality manager, Bruce Haxton as gear processing engineer, Paul Lindquist as process engineer and Jim Cagle as cost estimator. Krista King, in order processing, and Andrea Bagwell, an estimating/quoting assistant, were both promoted. Luy supervises the quality lab, acknowledged as one of the finest metrology centers in the gear industry, and manages ISO and ITAR registered programs, the latter having been secured this past March.

Haxton is responsible for the transitions from design to manufacturing protocols. He brings an impressive background in gearmaking to the task. Lindquist oversees the utilization of more than 80 machine tools to streamline production workflow through the shop. Cagle helps keep pace with the hundreds of RFQs received each week. King expands her role in purchasing, working with numerous vendors and the strict guidelines of many government, aerospace and defense contractors. Her primary role is processing purchase orders. Bagwell is responsible for preparing quotes for sales engineers and others.

?We?ve been growing steadily in the last two years, despite economic conditions, and this news reflects that situation,? comments company president Wendy Young, who runs the business alongside her husband, CEO Fred Young. www.forestcitygear.com

MATE PRECISION TOOLING (ANOKA, MN) . . .
promoted Tiffany Tripp to sales manager for Latin America. Jim Thomas, vice president of international sales, announced that Tripp will have responsibility for all dealer sales activities in Mexico and will also handle all direct channel sales efforts in South and Central America. ?She has served us successfully in Latin American markets for more than ten years. Her results-driven style, language skills, cultural experience, industry background and education will serve her well in her new position.?

Tripp?s new responsibilities include managing dealers in Mexico, South and Central America, and increasing market share in Brazil. In addition, she will supervise and manage dealer product training. Tripp has served as Mate?s business development specialist for Latin America since July 2008. Prior to that, she was marketing specialist for Latin America from 2005 to 2008 and worked in the customer service department from 2000 to 2005. Tripp is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and Spanish. www.mate.com

GÜDEL (ANN ARBOR, MI) . . .
appointed John Izzi as its new applications engineer and Jeff Newsom as its new account manager for aftermarket sales and service. Izzi has more than 30 years of factory automation and robotics expertise, with extensive experience in mechanical engineering. Newsome has more than 20 years of experience in tier-one supplier manufacturing and has extensive experience in domestic and international sales, engineering and manufacturing management. us.gudel.com

BARTON MINES COMPANY
(GLENS FALLS, NY) . . .
appointed Joe Morris as northeast regional sales manager to replace Chris Waters, who was promoted to manager of customer services. Morris has worked inside sales with the company since 2006 and possesses comprehensive knowledge of garnet abrasives and a deep understanding of the market. He has undergone OEM training on various aspects of waterjet technology to assist customers with fault diagnosis of machines.

Prior to joining Barton, Morris worked in fabrication and manufacturing with technical paint and coating application methods and abrasive media blasting. As regional sales manager, Morris will educate the waterjet and blast media markets in the value of garnet abrasives and will work to maximize customer satisfaction. www.barton.com

AMERICAN ARCHITECTURAL
MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
(SCHAUMBURG, IL) . . .
announced that Dwight Wilkes is working as the association consultant on code issues pertaining to the southeast region of the U.S. He will utilize his existing relationships with key staff and officials in the Florida Building Commission and southeast regional state and local building and energy code organizations to help keep AAMA members informed about code changes affecting the southeast states. He will analyze the effects of proposed state code changes in order to determine the impact on the industry, specifically on the business and products of AAMA member companies.

"We're proud to have him managing our southeast region code activities and building on the long history of achievements and timely communications we've already established," says Rich Walker, AAMA president and CEO. "His years of experience and extensive knowledge of the building industry, specifically issues affecting the southeastern U.S., will serve as a considerable asset to our association and to our members."

Wilkes will advocate recommended southeast region code change proposals and public comments within the appropriate state code arenas, as well as report results of code hearings to both AAMA regional and national members. He is a former building official in St. John's County, FL, and comes to this consulting role with extensive experience as a plans examiner as well. www.aamanet.org

ACE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
(ST. LOUIS, MO) . . .

appointed Toney Walker of Toney Walker Company as its manufacturer sales representative for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee; Terry Walker of Terry Walker Company as its manufacturer sales representative for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee; and Brian Stockton of Stockton Enterprises as its manufacturer sales representative for Wisconsin, eastern Iowa, and northern Illinois, including the Greater Chicago region.

Toney brings more than 21 years, Terry more than 43 years, and Stockton more than 31 years of professional experience in the welding, safety and industrial supply marketplace to the partnership between distributor, customer and manufacturer. All three representatives have extensive experience in all facets of marketing, promotion, trade shows, product development, technical training and end user joint sales calls. www.associatedequip.com

ATS ENGINEERING (PLYMOUTH, MI) . . .
named Tim Sante as North American national sales manager to direct all commercial and business development activities from the Plymouth office. He brings over 25 years of sales and management experience in industrial machinery, including specialty test and manufacturing systems.

He was previously employed at Dyne Systems, Inc. as the eastern regional sales manager responsible for engine-testing dynamometers and systems integration sales. Prior to that he was the vice president of sales and marketing at FEV, Inc. where he specialized in complete dynamometer test-facility design and deployment. During his tenure, Sante has participated in all phases of test-machinery design, fabrication and implementation. Sante received his diploma in engineering from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI.

Said Hans-Ulrich Tischer, director of sales for ATS Engineering, "Under his leadership, our team can meet the needs of the North American market. He will help companies gain a competitive advantage with a full line of innovatively designed asynchronous motors, synchronous motors, and custom-designed motors for industrial use in engine, powertrain and chassis-dynamometer test systems. Sante will also direct development activities in the areas of slitting and shear manufacturing operations, plastic extrusion processes and high-speed production machining." www.ats-engineering.com

EAGLE SUPERABRASIVES (HICKORY, NC) . . .
added Kevin Cervenak, Dave Drum and John Coleman as new salesmen. In addition to working in sales, Cervenak was previously a buyer, machinist and grinder with Hickory Carbide Tool. His background closely mirrors what current customers do, and he says that's a big help in his job.

Drum and Coleman are excited about bringing new customers in the door. Drum says it's a challenge he relishes. "It's a challenge to get your foot in the door, but once that's been accomplished, developing the sales relationship happens naturally. Working at Eagle Superabrasives allows us to give more personal attention to our customers, attention that they wouldn't get from our larger competitors," adds Coleman. "I'm really proud of our sales team," says president Bob Comer. "Our new additions help support our history of outstanding sales and customer service, and these guys will play a significant part of our future success." www.eaglesuperabrasives.com

TUBELITE INC. (WALKER, MI) . . .
named G. Bowie and Associates (Nashville, TN) as its manufacturer's representative in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee, and added Michael Augustine as its manufacturer's representative to provide storefront, curtainwall, entrance and daylight control systems to commercial building teams throughout Indiana. Drawing from more than 30 years of experience in commercial building products and services, the G. Bowie team works closely with architects, contractors, consultants, property managers, building owners and developers throughout the Southeast region. Founder Gary Bowie is joined by Hunt Dickson to serve as knowledgeable resources on building enclosure products, including storefront, curtainwall, entrance and daylight control systems.

"We're pleased to represent the company," says Bowie. "Along with its environmental leadership, this is a user-friendly, well-organized, good company with a history of success. Its products and people are well-known in the Midwest, and we're glad to support their reach and reputation across the
Southeast." In addition to representing Tubelite, G. Bowie and Associates has a long history representing high-performance products, from Wausau Window and Wall Systems and from other manufacturers. Augustine draws from 14 years of experience partnering with architects, contractors, building owners and consultants in the central states. "I'm happy to represent a company with a solid reputation for personalized service and dependable quality," says Augustine. "This is a strong market for our energy-efficient, durably-finished, sustainably focused products." www.tubeliteinc.com

HYDRO EXTRUSION NORTH AMERICA (LINTHICUM, MD) . . .
appointed Allan Annis vice president and general manager for its southeast region to fill the vacancy created by Matthew Dionne's appointment as president of Hydro Extrusion North America. Annis joined Hydro in 2006 as operations director for the plant in Belton, SC. He then held the same position at another facility in St. Augustine, FL. He will remain based in St. Augustine. "Allan has a strong background in lean manufacturing and knows how to build capable, motivated and engaged teams," said Dionne. "He has played a key role in increasing productivity in our Belton and St. Augustine facilities, as well as improving on-time deliveries, which has earned us high customer satisfaction marks. I am certain that our sales and operations in the Southeast will thrive under Allan's leadership."

Under Annis' direction, the St. Augustine plant improved safety performance, reducing its incidence rate by half in 18 months. It also improved customer on-time delivery to more than 95 percent. Prior to joining Hydro, Annis was chief operating officer at Power Partners, Inc. (Athens, GA), a leading manufacturer of overhead electricity distribution transformers. Earlier in his career, Annis worked for Ingersoll Rand, Danaher Tool, INA Bearing and Westinghouse Electric in engineering and operations management roles. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering operations from North Carolina State University and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification from the American Society for Quality. www.hydro.com/northamerica

HYTROL CONVEYOR CO., INC.
(JONESBORO, AR) . . .
added Mitch Johnson as director of systems development. He comes with 27 years of engineering and sales experience in the conveyor industry, where he was most recently employed as a regional sales manager for Intelligrated. He will work with the business development group on expanding its presence in the material handling industry. His new responsibilities include business development, new market development and penetration, point-of-sale support for Hytrol Integration Partners, and driving end user value. www.hytrol.com