AMT Elects New Officers

AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA) has elected its 2016-2017 officers and directors for the board year beginning April 1, 2016.

The AMT board of directors — representing the American manufacturing technology industry — named Richard L. Simons, the president and chief executive officer of Hardinge Inc. (Elmira, NY), to serve as the chairman. He follows chairman Jerry Rex, the executive vice president of Concept Machine Tool (Plymouth, MN).

“It is an honor and privilege to step into this leadership role after a long career in this industry that I love,” said Simons. “For many years Hardinge has been an active participant in this organization and I am proud to keep that legacy alive. The staff and the board of AMT are committed to providing its members with information, resources, and a great IMTS 2016 to help manufacturing thrive as a most critical component of the global economy. Under Jerry Rex’s leadership, we have gained important forward momentum and I promise to do my best to keep that going in the coming year.”

Simons has served as the president and chief executive officer of Hardinge, a leading international provider of advanced metal cutting solutions, since May 2008. Prior to that he was the vice president and corporate controller at Carpenter Technology, a publicly-traded specialty steel manufacturer from 2005 to 2008. Simons originally joined Hardinge in 1983 and held various management roles before being named the executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1999 to 2005. He has a B.S. from Bloomsburg University and an M.B.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also a director of Sunnen Products Company (St. Louis, MO), a global manufacturer and distributor of honing and bore sizing equipment and related accessories.

The board also elected Ronald S. Karaisz II, the president of Novi Precision Products, Inc. (Brighton, MI), a custom machine tool builder and integrator, to serve as the first vice chairman. He joined the machine tool industry in 1981, created machine tool distributor Kar Enterprises in 1987 and became the president at Novi Precision in 1999.

Steven R. Stokey, the executive vice president and owner of Allied Machine & Engineering Corp. (Dover, OH), a world leader in metal cutting, will serve as the second vice chairman and treasurer. Brian J. Papke, the president of machine tool builder Mazak Corporation (Florence, KY), was elected the secretary. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois.

Newly elected to a three-year term as a member of the association’s board of directors are Donald D. Lane, the chief executive officer of Makino (Mason, OH), and Ralph Resnick, the president and executive director of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (Blairsville, Pa).

2016-2017 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Chairman: Richard L. Simons, president and chief executive officer of Hardinge.
First Vice Chairman: Ronald S. Karaisz, president of Novi Precision Products.
Second Vice Chairman and Treasurer: Steven R. Stokey, executive vice president and owner of Allied Machine & Engineering.
Secretary: Brian J. Papke, president of Mazak.

Directors:

• Christopher A. Bailey, president and chief operating officer of Etna Products, Inc. (Chagrin Falls, OH).
• John B. Cheung, chief executive officer and co-founder of OMAX Corporation (Kent, WA).
• Donald D. Lane, chief executive officer of Makino, Inc. (Mason, OH).
• Lee Morris, chief executive officer and chairman of Morris Group, Inc. (Windsor, CT).
• Ralph Resnick, president and executive director of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (Blairsville, PA).
• Paul Ricard, president of DP Technology Corp. (Camarillo, CA)

Ex-Officio:

• Jerry Rex, executive vice president of Concept Machine Tool, (Plymouth, MI)
• Kevin J. Kilgallen, the president of Mid Atlantic Machinery, Inc. (Harrisburg, PA)

www.amtonline.org