NTMA Appoints New President

The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA; Cleveland, OH) has announced the appointment of Dean Bartles, PhD, as their new president. He succeeds Dave Tilstone, who is retiring after serving as president since 2010. Bartles brings almost four decades of experience in the manufacturing sector, most recently as the director of the John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH).

Previously, Bartles served as a president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME; Southfield, MI), president of the North American Manufacturing Research Institute (NAMRI/SME; Southfield, MI), founding executive director of the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute (DMDI; Chicago, IL), and founding chairman of the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC; Washington, DC). He also has extensive corporate experience and began his career working at various major manufacturing companies. For 13 years, he was the vice president and general manager of the Ordnance and Tactical Systems Division at General Dynamics, and earlier in his career held positions at Primex Technologies, Olin Ordnance, General Defense Corporation and Fairchild Republic Company.

“Dean Bartles brings us a deep understanding of our industry and its importance to the economy,” stated Mark Vaughn, the NTMA chairman. “We were established in part to help fill the manufacturing industry skills gap by tapping talented people for careers in our industry, and his years of experience at both manufacturing associations and companies gives him a unique perspective on this important issue. He is an excellent leader to continue to strengthen our workforce development programs. The board, members and staff thank Dave Tilstone for his leadership. We know that Dean will continue to build on the tremendous work done by him.”

“NTMA is composed of some of the most knowledgeable, experienced and competitive companies in the manufacturing sector,” added Bartles. “I’m excited to join the association at this critical time for manufacturing. There is no more important issue today than addressing the shortage of skilled labor that our members and all manufacturers are experiencing. I’m looking forward to growing NTMA-U, our fully online program of courses developed for precision machining and related occupations, and our new National Apprentice Program, a best practices program that offers webinars on technology and techniques. These programs can provide critical tools for companies to attract and educate the next generation of workers.”

Bartles graduated from Shepherd College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and holds an MBA from Shippensburg University and a master’s degree in international business from Tampa College. He has also earned a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Nova Southeastern University and a PhD in Technology Management, with a concentration in advanced manufacturing systems, from Indiana State University.

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