Kitagawa-NorthTech Hires Manager of Engineering

Kitagawa-NorthTech, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL), a leader in workholding products, standard and custom engineered workholding solutions and steady rests, has named Ed Johannesen as a senior manager of engineering and quality. He is now responsible for leading their design engineering group, quality function, and continuous improvement processes for the company.

Before joining the company, he held manufacturing engineering and quality management positions over the past 15 years at various industrial firms, most notably Nissan Forklift and Toyoda Machinery USA. While at Nissan, his contributions included new product and process development, CNC and robotic equipment implementation, and cross-functional team leadership. He also managed both internal and external engineering and quality teams responsible for machining, fabrication, welding, paint, and assembly operations.

He led many continuous improvement initiatives and activities using the Nissan Value-Up (Six Sigma) methodology and tools, and refined the implementation of the Nissan Production Way, which is a never-ending effort to synchronize operations to customer demand. Certified as a V-Pilot and trained as a V-Expert, he successfully demonstrated year-over-year improvement in vehicle manufacturing productivity, quality and safety. “The tools and skill sets that I have developed from extensive continuous improvement projects are directly transferrable to my new position. I am also very proud to join this company and to be a part of one of the most respected brands of workholding solutions in the metalworking industry,” said Johannesen.

Johannesen brings 25 years of manufacturing engineering, quality and process improvement expertise to this engineering and quality group. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Technology from Southern Illinois University and MBA from Northern Illinois University. He currently resides with his family in Cary, IL, and works out of Kitagawa’s headquarters for the Americas located in Schaumburg.

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