2011-2012 Editorial Advisory Board: Introductions and Insights

We have assembled a fresh, balanced group—comprised of moldmakers, molders and OEMs—who can provide new ideas and perspectives on the industry and assist the editors with the direction of the magazine’s content in the months and years ahead. We believe the editorial advisory board (EAB) has enhanced the standing of MoldMaking Technology and has strengthened both its professional and editorial integrity through the active involvement of its members: you, the readers.

Our newly reorganized board includes the following individuals:

Tim Atwood has been employed with MSI Mold Builders (Cedar Rapids, IA) for 29 years. Starting as an apprentice, he became a journeyman moldmaker, and then began to program CNC equipment.  For the past 23 years Tim has held various management positions in the organization including the CNC department manager, Programming department manager, Engineering Services manager and most recently as Technology Manager.  For the last 11, he has been responsible for implementation of new and existing technology organization wide.  Tim also manages the Information Technology department and the Plant Maintenance department in the Iowa location.   
Victor Baez is the Engineering Sales Manager at Triangle Tool Corporation (Milwaukee, WI). He is experienced in all aspects of the plastics industry: business development/diversification, engineering sales, manufacturing facility start up, part and tool design for moldability, and qualification for manufacturing processes. Prior to current his position, he was vice president of program management at a leading plastics engineering and manufacturing firm, MGS Mfg. Group. He has a MS in Engineering from the University Wisconsin–Platteville; BS in Business Management & Technology from the University Wisconsin–Stout; and Associate Degree Tool & Die Making from Milwaukee Area Technical College. Currently active with; Society of Plastics Engineers – board member (SPE), Engineers and Scientists of Milwaukee (ESM), and local Project Lead the Way. He was Milwaukee SPE President 2007/2008 and 2008/2009.
Andy Baker has helped Byrne Tool and Die (Rockford, MI) transition into a sustainable business culture with annual growth.  While working at Byrne, Andy has gained a vast knowledge of lean manufacturing principles and how to apply them to moldmaking. He is currently Project Manager. Andy also serves on the National board of the American Mold Builders Association, is President of the West Michigan chapter of the American Mold Builders and serves on the board of the Michigan Tooling Group. Andy is a journeyman moldmaker and has been in the Tool & Die industry since 1993 and at Byrne Tool & Die since 2000.  He is currently attending Cornerstone University, focusing on business administration.

Ed Baker is a veteran of the high-tech capital equipment industry. His career spans several decades of executive management in semi-conductor, medical device and computers. He entered Quashnick Tool Corporation (Lodi, CA) a few years ago when the 39-year-old company was in need of revitalization and development of new market opportunities. Ed’s unique technical background in ultra clean technologies, along with his relentless focus on increasing organizational competitiveness have renewed the strength, quality and depth of services offered by Quashnick. He is President and COO.

Tim Bartz graduated from Dunwoody College of Technology in 1986 and worked at four different shops before landing at Mold Craft Inc. (Willernie, MN) in 1992, where he has been for 18 years. Tim started out in the grinding area of the shop and worked his way onto the CNC machining centers, where he eventually ran the department.  Tim took on more responsibility and started running the entire shop.  In September of 2007 he and Justin McPhee took over ownership of Mold Craft.  Currently Tim is V.P. of Operations.

John Berg has more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience working for OEMs and business-to-business agencies. John earned his degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin.  John is Marketing Director for MGS MFG. Group (Germantown, WI). He is a frequent speaker at industry events and is a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

Dick Laverty began his career at Chicago Mold Engineering (St. Charles, IL) in June 1966 as a first year moldmaking apprentice learning how to operate all of the various machines and attending the Tool and Die Institute Moldmaking Apprenticeship Program. In 1972 he moved into the Engineering Department as an Apprentice Mold Designer. He became Engineering Manager in 1976 responsible for all aspects of design and engineering then in 1982 he became the Plant Superintendent responsible for all aspects of Production. In July of 1990 he was promoted to VP/GM, responsible for daily operations of  Engineering and Production. In 1998 he was named President/GM responsible for overseeing all aspects of Chicago Mold. In 2007 the third generation ownership took over the reigns as President and Dick now serves as VP, working with current customers and with the Sales Department in developing new customers.
Tom Lynn is an engineer, consultant and educator with varied expertise in many phases of plastics and moldmaking. He joined the plastics industry in 1972 as an apprentice moldmaker in the Chicago area.  Upon completion, and after graduating from Triton College, he moved on to mold design, product design and program management while working in medical, consumer products, telecommunications, automotive, and appliance industries. During the early 1980s, he worked with the Tool & Die Institute (now TMA), and Triton College as an instructor for trade classes. He has also given seminars for SPE.  For the past 11 years, he has been with General Electric Appliances and Lighting (Louisville, KY), as Tooling Engineer, Plastics working with molders and moldmakers around the world. He is a Six Sigma certified Green Belt.
Ralph Neufarth has been involved in the moldmaking industry for the past 24 years after spending 10 years in the tool and die discipline with Siemens Corporation. He has extensive knowledge and experience with multiple machining processes including wire and sinker EDM. His experiences include the design and build of prototype and production injection molds with a smaller firm, design and build of optical components production molds with 3M Precision (formally Corning, US Precision Lens), and presently, as a Senior Scientist/Engineer with Procter & Gamble’s Global Package Development organization (West Chester, OH). Responsibilities include: managing a group of researchers responsible for conceptualizing, designing, and fabrication of fully functional prototypes and associated tooling (including injection, thermoform/vacuum form, and extrusion blow molds), product delivery systems, devices, and other related upstream tool technologies. This includes working seamlessly with the injection molding and blow molding capability groups internal to P&G. He also has in depth knowledge of 3-D data capture and reverse engineering.

Steven Rotman is the President of Ameritech Die & Mold (Mooresville, NC)). Having moved from Grand Rapids, MI in 1985 with 2 other partners, they set out to service the large non-automotive manufacturing sector, and found quick growth. They made a strong alliance with CNC technology—first in milling and then CNC sinker and wire EDM. To help identify and train new employees, they joined a group of five companies and formed Apprenticeship 2000. As NAFTA and the WTO started to kick in, they began to see more automotive work come down to the Southern belt, so through their previous MI automotive experience, they began to delve back into the automotive sector, while maintaining their furniture, appliance and consumer goods relationships. In 2001, Steven bought out his two original partners and brought in Keith Fox as Plant Manager. In 2004, they partnered to buy the assets of Pinnacle Mold (Ormond Beach, FL) to establish a partnership with a couple of large manufacturers in that area. It was renamed Ameritech Die & Mold South, and has since established a quality system that allows them to quote and produce parts for aerospace and military applications.

Mike Zacharias is a journeyman moldmaker who began in the trades right out of high school in 1984. He was a first moldmaker apprentice at Ironwood Plastics, which then lead to a Tooling and Engineering Manager position before moving on to Lexmark, and then to Global Tool and Engineering as Plant Manager. Mike started Extreme Tool & Engineering, Inc. (Wakefield, MI) in 1998 for which he is President. He is an active member of AMBA, SPI, and advisory Board Member of several colleges and trade schools.