Industry Watch: People

The Leader of Innovation Medal recognizes creative entrepreneurs who have made significant contributions across many fields that better society and shine a light on the impact of innovation. MAG is a leading developer of automation technologies for producing composite structures for aerospace, automotive and wind energy, and one of the largest global suppliers of machine tools and automated manufacturing systems for the durable goods industry, with manufacturing and sales operations around the world.

Meidar is an alumnus and trustee of the university who has given great support, both intellectually and materially. His company recently funded the new Philadelphia University MAG Composites Institute and has donated a machining center to be used by students in manufacturing of engineering prototypes. “It’s an honor to be recognized with such a distinguished group of achievers as represented by this year’s award recipients,” said Meidar. “MAG enthusiastically supports the work of Philadelphia University in its development of the next generation of leaders in manufacturing, engineering and other fields. We want them to have every competitive advantage possible as they launch their careers.”

“These friends and alumni are world-class leaders and innovators,” said Stephen Spinelli Jr., the president of Philadelphia University. “As a model for professional university education, we are focused on innovation. The careers and successes of our honorees across a range of disciplines inspire us. They are not only accomplished in their fields, but they also exemplify the University’s mission, sense of purpose and innovative spirit.”

In addition to its collaboration with Philadelphia University, MAG supports student apprenticeships with salaries and 100 percent tuition, working through local community and technical schools around the world. The company also invests aggressively in internal leadership development for promising management candidates.
www.mag-ias.com

SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS INTERNATIONAL
(SAE; DETRIOT, MI) . . .
recently named Yoshitaka Okitsu, Tadashi Naito, Naoki Takaki and Tomoaki Sugiura of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. and Nobuhiro Tsuji of Kyoto University as the recipients of the SAE International/Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) Sydney H. Melbourne Award of Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Sheet Steel.

The Sydney H. Melbourne Award of Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Sheet Steel recognizes authors who effectively demonstrate ways to further the use of sheet steel in automotive applications. Established in 1997, the award honors the memory and accomplishments of the late Sydney H. Melbourne of Dofasco Inc. (Hamilton, ON) and encourages others to strive for the level of excellence he attained within his organization, the steel industry and the automotive marketplace.

The recipients were honored for authoring and presenting a paper titled “Mechanical Properties and Crash Worthiness of Ultrafine Grained Multi-Phase Steel Sheets for Automotive Body Applications” (SAE paper no. 2010-01-0438) during the 2011 SAE World Congress. The award-winning paper addresses the importance of “work hardening” in advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and points out the benefits of forming deformation martensite, which assures that crash members deform in a controlled, compact and predictable way. This technology enables crash models with AHSS to be more accurate in predicting actual crash test results.

“As we work to continually drive and promote vehicle lightweighting efforts through steel advancements, we are also dedicated to increasing occupant safety through vehicle crash performance improvements,” explained Ronald Krupitzer, the vice president of the automotive market for SMDI. “The data and results of this paper are critical to furthering this effort. I applaud the authors for their research and dedication to the advancement of new steel technologies.” www.sae.org, www.smdisteel.org

INDUSTRIAL MAGNETICS, INC. (BOYNE CITY, MI) . . .
recently promoted Dennis O’Leary to the position of General Manager. After several years as the manager of product development and marketing for MacGregor Golf Company, Dennis joined IMI in 1999 as a marketing specialist and was promoted to marketing manager in 2000. A few years later, he became the director of marketing and field sales, where he managed seven regional sales managers across the U.S., and was later promoted to director of sales and marketing, where he oversaw the entire marketing and sales efforts of the company.

Bud Shear, the owner of Industrial Magnetics, said “I am pleased to announce the promotion of Dennis to general manager. He has done a wonderful job of leading the company’s growth. This promotion is a natural progression for him and I am sure that his previous success will breed future success as the general manager of IMI.” Industrial Magnetics is celebrating their 50^th anniversary in 2011. www.magnetics.com

HYDRO ALUMINUM EXTRUSION NORTH AMERICA
(LINTHICUM, MD) . . .
recently appointed three senior sales professionals as part of a drive to add depth to its technical solutions support and extend its customer collaboration capabilities. Charles Fishback was named territory sales manager of the Central region, where he will develop extrusion-based solutions for manufacturers in the upper Midwest. He most recently worked in sales at Sapa Inc. (Portland, OR), where he was the top salesman in 2008 and 2009.

Bill Maerling rejoined Hydro as a territory sales manager in the West region and is based in the Phoenix plant. He is an industry veteran with more than 15 years of managerial experience. Prior to Hydro, Maerling served as a district sales manager at Sapa. Joseph DeCapita now serves as territory sales manager in the upper Midwest. He spent the last 12 years working as the engineering manager for General Extrusions Inc. (Youngstown, OH).

“Each of these new additions is skilled at working with customers and prospects to develop creative extrusion-based product solutions,” said Lynn Brown, the vice president of sales and marketing for Hydro. “They exhibit the leadership and passion necessary to succeed in this industry, and will further strengthen our sales and operations across the country.” www.hydro.com/northamerica