AMT elects 2011-2012 officers, directors

'We expect to see the support generated for manufacturing in the U.S. increase," said new association chairman, Eugene Haffely, PE.

March 7, 2011

The Association For Manufacturing Technology elected its 2011-2012 officers and directors at its 2011 Annual Meeting in Chandler, AZ.

The Board of Directors of the association, which represents more than 400 American manufacturers of machine tools, manufacturing machinery and related products, elected Eugene R. Haffely Jr., General Manager, Dayton Facility at ATW Automation, Dayton, OH, as Chairman. He follows Daniel D. Janka, President, MAG Global, Hebron, KY. Janka will now serve the association as an Ex-Officio member of its Board of Directors, along with Ronald F. Schildge, President, Eitel Presses, Inc., Orwigsburg, PA.

The Board elected Timothy B. Dining, President/CEO, Greenerd Press/Machine Company, Inc., Nashua, NH, to serve as First Vice Chairman in the coming year. Also elected was R. Stephen Flynn, President, Optical Gaging Products, Inc., Rochester, NY, to serve as Second Vice Chairman/Treasurer.

Kim W. Beck, President/CEO, Automatic Feed Co., Napoleon, OH, will continue to serve as Secretary.

Newly elected to a three-year term as a member of the association’s Board of Directors are Larry G. Schwartz, President/COO, Okuma America Corporation, Charlotte, NC, and Richard L. Simons, President/CEO, Hardinge Inc., Elmira, NY. Both R. Stephen Flynn, President, Optical Gaging Products, Inc., Rochester, NY, and Michael Powell, President, Master WorkHolding, Inc., Morganton, NC, will be returning for a 3-year term.

“It is exciting to be assuming the role of AMT Chairman in this critical time of economic recovery for manufacturers,” said Haffely. “As we are seeing significant portions of AMT’s Manufacturing Mandate being adopted and implemented by government and the private sector, we expect to see the support generated for manufacturing in the U.S. increase. This, coupled with the introduction of new business intelligence tools for the manufacturing technology industry, will make the coming year productive and inspiring.”

Eugene R. Haffely Jr. PE, General Manager, Dayton Facility at ATW Automation, Dayton, OH – He previously served as Chief Executive Officer – Assembly Systems Group of Assembly/Worldwide. Haffely was a co-founder of Advanced Assembly Automation (AAA) (founded in 1984) and served as Vice President of Operations until 1996.

Haffely then served as President of Hansford Manufacturing, a Division of DT Industries and as the Corporate Vice President of Operations for DT Industries from 1997 through 1999 when he returned to AAA as President. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. in computer and electrical engineering.

Timothy B. Dining, President/CEO of Greenerd Press/Machine Company, Inc., Nashua, NH, a position he has held since 2000. Prior to joining the 125-year old manufacturer of hydraulic presses, he was Vice President, Operations, for Labsphere, Inc., in North Sutton, NH. Before that, he served as Vice President, Operations, for WPI Power Systems and WPI Electronics.

Dining is a Dartmouth College graduate, with a B.S. in psychology. He also holds an M.B.A. from The Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire.

R. Stephen Flynn, President, Optical Gaging Products, Inc., Rochester, NY. He has held this position since November 2006. Flynn was previously Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Optical Gaging Products from 1994-2000. He has been a member of the AMT Board of Directors since 2007. He has been elected to serve another 3-year term.

Kim W. Beck, President/CEO of Automatic Feed Co., Napoleon, OH. He joined Automatic Feed as a salesman in 1975 and became President in 1982. A graduate of Hillsdale College, he is involved with many civic associations. He has been an active member of AMT and has served on several committees of the association. Beck earlier served on the AMT Board of Directors from 1993 to 2003, and was Chairman of the Board in 2000-2001.

Michael Powell, President of Master WorkHolding, Inc., Morganton, NC. He began working in a machine shop after school as a teenager and “I was hooked,” he says. He has 35 years of industry experience with companies manufacturing products ranging from heavy equipment to aerospace components. In 1988 he founded Master WorkHolding, which supplies custom prismatic workholding equipment worldwide. Powell currently chairs the association’s Workholding Product Group.

Larry G. Schwartz, President/COO of Okuma America Corporation, Charlotte, NC. Schwartz has been with Okuma for more than 15 years, working in manufacturing, sales, marketing, and executive management before taking his current position in 2005. He has more than 40 years of experience in manufacturing and is passionate about helping companies improve their manufacturing operations. He was instrumental in the development of the THINC-OSP control and was the driving force behind the creation of Partners in THINC and the Okuma Technical Centers in Chicago and Houston.

Richard L. Simons, President/CEO of Hardinge Inc., Elmira, NY. He has served in this position since May 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Simons served as Hardinge’s Senior Vice President/COO. He joined Hardinge Inc. in 1984 and held several positions in finance with the company before joining another company in 2005. He returned to Hardinge Inc. in May 2008 as their VP/COO. He is a former member and chairman of AMT’s Financial Issues Committee. Mr. Simons is a CPA and holds an M.B.A. degree in finance. He also holds a B.S. degree in accounting.