Meet Production Machining's 2019 Emerging Leaders

Alex Puff, Manufacturing Engineer, Micron Mfg. Co.

Alex Puff has always enjoyed making and improving things and solving problems, even prior to his entry into his manufacturing career. That’s why it’s not hard to understand why he enjoys his job as a manufacturing engineer at PMPA active member company Micron Manufacturing Co. “What better place than manufacturing to be surrounded by taking chunks/bars of material and creating a usable product paired with endless opportunity for improvement?” Alex says.

Alex was hired at Micron in 2007 when he was 18 years old, making CAD part drawings, a skill he learned in high school at the local career technical center. By that time, he’d already had his own window cleaning business for two years. His entrepreneurial spirit carried over into manufacturing when, during the 2008/2009 manufacturing downturn, Alex created an LLC and found outside opportunities to use his growing CAD skills to draw for other local companies. In the meantime, Alex wanted to learn how to run the Swiss machines.

“It became apparent very quickly that Alex has amazing, inherent, practical engineering skills,” says his nominator, Dan Vermeesch, plant manager at Micron.

Within a few years Alex enrolled in night classes at the community college and began a degree in engineering. Shortly after his 21st birthday Alex was asked to become Micron’s estimator, and then his current position as manufacturing engineer followed a few years later.

Production Machining asked Alex some additional questions about himself. Here’s what he said:

PM: Tell me about a time when you had to think outside the box to complete a task. Were you successful?

AP: In my personal life I love to fish. Getting to the lake is a bit of a walk, especially with gear and a cooler, so I came up with solution of building a “cooler cart” to drive my equipment and beverages down to the lake. It was fun to make and served its purpose. At Micron, I’ve had to make fixed gaging that met a specific need for an ongoing material verification process.

PM: As an Emerging Leader, how do you hope to have a greater impact on the manufacturing industry and your community?

AP: Micron believes it has an obligation to support and help the precision machining industry, in general, and our community specifically. As a matter of fact, “Community Counts” is one of the values of the company. I see the impact that Micron has on the industry on a regular basis and how other companies impact us. For myself, I now oversee the engineering intern program at Micron, which offers the opportunity to reach out to the local high schools, community college and universities.

PM: Was there a pivotal moment in your career where you realized you chose the correct career path?

AP: I was asked to sit in the seat of the estimator—at the time it was intimidating—but Micron had faith in me. I felt I had to fill that role the best I could. When I realized that I could fill that role even though I was only 21, I knew I could do much more than I ever thought I could. I could take my natural drive to be creative and use it with all the things I had to learn in order to estimate to more fully understand how a business works.

PM: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

AP: It’s hard to imagine not being in manufacturing. My time on the Management Team over the past few years has put me on a path to help Micron move into the next generation of leadership. Leading the engineering intern program is another step in the direction of providing long term growth guidance for others.

PM: What would you say to a perspective young person to attract them to the field of manufacturing?

AP: Every day, everything we use started as an idea from someone, then another person had to design it, someone had to figure out how to manufacture it, then make it, and how to market and sell it. Also, trying to “wow” the younger generation with the machines, software/programs and other cool tech stuff we get to use.

PM: How has your PMPA membership been influential to your job or your company?

AP: PMPA is a great community to belong to. The conferences/seminars are a good learning resource, but even better is the networking with other companies. The PMPA forums are a great tool. It is a great community resource with more than 500 companies in the industry that contribute their experiences and knowledge.

Keith Goodrich, Product Specialist, CNC Software Inc.

Keith started his career in CNC machining in 2006 at a job shop in Connecticut. In four years, he worked up the ranks as operator, programmer and inspector before becoming shop foreman, overseeing 13 machinists and 17 CNC and manual machine spindles. His desire to learn required progression into some of the most challenging aspects of the industry. From there, he found a new opportunity as a manufacturing engineer making parts on vertical turning lathes while also honing his PMPA technical member Mastercam programming skills. Then, he accepted a role as an applications engineer with a machine tool manufacturer, where he trained customers using Mastercam. In 2014, Keith began working in his current position in CAD/CAM development at CNC Software, makers of Mastercam.

“Looking ahead, I’m excited for the future of the manufacturing industry,” Keith says. “I’m lucky to be in a critical position at such an exciting time. My role at CNC Software is allowing me to literally help shape the future of manufacturing.”

Graham Immerman, Director of Marketing, MachineMetrics

As part of the team that has delivered Industrial Internet of Things product to hundreds of shop floors and thousands of machines, Graham’s leadership stretches from PMPA technical member  MachineMetrics’ internal team to executives of manufacturing plants and operators on shop floors across the world. He has a background in digital, social, traditional, account-based marketing, growth strategies and business development. Graham effectively and passionately communicates his ideas and vision in a way that is easy to understand. By empathizing with the people experiencing the change of digital transformation, Graham has been able to communicate the story of Industry 4.0 in a way that is inspiring instead of fear provoking.

“A true leader must be passionate, and Graham is contagiously passionate about marketing and manufacturing,” his nominator says. “Listen to him talk about manufacturing for a few minutes, and you too will feel like you can make a difference and have an impact on an industry that plays a role in all of our lives.”

Andrew Knapp, Applications Manager, Ellison Technologies

With 21 years of experience in manufacturing, Andrew has worked as a CNC machinist, programmer, supervisor and engineer in the manufacturing industry. Andrew is responsible for managing the engineering department at Ellison Technologies for all of Ohio and Eastern Kentucky. He is experienced with the programming of FANUC, Siemens and Heidenhain controls and solves complex manufacturing problems to help customers compete locally and globally. Andrew is well versed in multi-axis machines and has helped Ellison with some of the most complex applications. He first helps the sales staff choose the right platform and then completes stringent run-off requirements.

“Andrew excels not only at solving complex manufacturing problems, but also as a teacher,” his nominator says. “He has the ability to teach beginners in the trade all the way up to top programmers and setup men in our customers’ shops.”

Using his teaching talent, Andrew has taught machining classes at a local community college for the last eight years. “I believe one of the keys to the future growth of this industry is worker education,” Andrew says.

Nathan Neels, CEO, Harmonic Machine Inc.

As co-founder of Harmonic Machine Inc. almost 20 years ago, Nathan has displayed natural leadership skills through successive years when the company doubled in size. Nathan has a knack for motivating and encouraging his team members to give their best and is using modern technology to enable them to excel by maximizing efficiency. “Nathan leads many of his team members through training courses, and he continually invests in educating those around him,” his nominator says. He makes his team members feel empowered, cared for and respected, while giving them massive responsibility and creating an atmosphere where everyone feels ownership over their workspace.

Having recently obtained ISO:9001 certification, Nathan continues to push forward, embracing technology such as Industrial Internet of Things and automation. He also values being a constructive force in the local manufacturing industry and is currently working toward his MBA. “I lead a progressive company that values employees and has a modern and positive workplace culture,” Nathan says.

Andy Reinwald, President, Ripley Machine Tool Co.

Andy took over ownership of PMPA active member Ripley Machine Tool from his grandfather in 2015. Since that time, he has worked to develop new business in areas that the company had never explored before. A new focus on using social media and the company’s webpage to drive sales has been a key factor to achieving new business. Andy also shifted Ripley’s focus to providing high quality production CNC turning. He has also added several new machines with live tooling and bar feeding capabilities to allow for less hands-on processes. This trend expanded even further when he installed the company’s first Swiss machine. These changes, coupled with cost cutting, has helped Ripley experience a 50% increase in sales in 2017, a 30% increase in 2018 and a 15% increase expected in 2019.

“It is clear that with selling the company to Andy, I have nothing to worry about; the future at Ripley Machine is very bright,” says Andy’s grandfather and nominator.

“I hope to continue to improve and grow Ripley Machine,” Andy says. “I am very excited to be involved in the future of manufacturing.”

Jason Schwartz, Southern Regional Sales Manager, Kyzen Corp.

Jason has had to learn various cleaning applications for his position at PMPA technical member company Kyzen. His technical background in chemistry and willingness to help the end user investigate and resolve cleaning issues has given him a positive reputation among his peers, and he has earned trust from his clients. Jason has traveled long hours at night and on weekends to be at a customer site, forgoing his personal time. He constantly provides technical input to numerous requests that go beyond his job description. Jason provides extra services, such as free environmental consulting, to those who request assistance in understanding government regulations. “As others watch people like Jason, they envy his desire to serve and will hopefully emulate his actions for the betterment of this industry,” his nominator says.

In the future, Jason hopes to help the manufacturing industry develop and implement more environmentally and worker safe chemical alternatives and processes. “As technology advances, the only way to adapt and innovate is by continuing to educate yourself from experts in fields other than your own," Jason says.

Hayley Serruya, Vice President of Operations, E. J. Basler Co.

Hayley started as an intern at E.J. Basler Co. doing various shop projects. Eventually she assisted with engineering and quickly learned the AutoCAD system. From there she studied the company’s quality systems and became a quality administrator, handling customer concerns. In addition, she trained and became a TS (IATF 16949) auditor, keeping the shop in compliance with this strict automotivestandard. While working as a customer quality liaison for the machine shop, last year Hayley graduated Summa Cum Laude from her Northwestern University class. She attended school at night and on weekends to get her degree in organizational behavior and business leadership, while still working full time. Hayley is currently vice president of operations at a 40-person machine shop that her company recently acquired. She says she is forever curious and committed to championing the narrative surrounding sustainability within manufacturing and the untapped potential of women.

 “The wisdom and guidance that she provides is beyond what we see in others her age,” her nominator says.

Rachith Thipperi, Process Engineer, Pioneer Service Inc.

Rachith started at PMPA active member Pioneer Service in January 2018 as an intern without much knowledge about manufacturing. However, only a month into his internship, he was offered a full-time position as process engineer. After working with multiple teams, he excelled in his role, developing a dashboard tool that provided much-needed transparency and clarity to the quoting process. He learned the company’s enterprise resource planning system on the fly. He has a talent for catching problematic dimensional issues common to client prints, and his efforts have boosted his team’s efficiency and reduced errors. Rachith asks the right questions to understand the reasoning behind a current method, listens to his team members and almost always finds ways to improve it. He makes significant contributions to the company’s continuous improvement program. His insights extend to processes beyond production; he has bright ideas for the purchasing, customer service and sales departments as well.

“He has a bright future in manufacturing, and we believe we’ve only seen the beginning of what he will accomplish,” his nominator says.