AMT Elects New Board

AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA) has elected their 2017-2018 officers and directors. The 2017-2018 board year began April 1, 2017. This board of directors, which represents more than 600 builders and distributors of machine tools, manufacturing machinery and related products, named Ronald S. Karaisz II to serve as chairman. He is president of three companies: Kar Enterprises, Inc., Hydromat of Michigan LLC, and Novi Precision Products, Inc., all located in Brighton, MI. He follows chairman Richard L. Simons, the president and chief executive officer of Hardinge Inc. (Elmira, NY).

“I am honored to serve as chairman, to be an advocate for AMT members in an industry that I am passionate about,” said Karaisz. “I have been an active participant in AMT since the merger with AMTDA in 2012. I look forward to working with the staff and my fellow board members to provide all members with business solutions they need to thrive in these times of rapid technological change.” The board elected Steven R. Stokey, the executive vice president and owner of Allied Machine & Engineering Corp. (Dover, OH), to serve as first vice chairman. Christopher A. Bailey, the president and chief operating officer of Etna Products, Inc. (Chagrin Falls, OH), will serve as second vice chairman and treasurer. Brian J. Papke, the chairman of Mazak Corporation (Florence, KY), was elected secretary. Newly elected to a three-year term as a member of the board is Michael J. Cicco, the president and chief executive officer of FANUC America Corporation (Rochester Hills, MI).

Chairman
Ronald S. Karaisz II joined the machine tool industry in 1981 and six years later founded Kar Enterprises, a machine tool distributor that represented approximately ten machine tool manufacturers. In 1996, he became the president and managing member of Hydromat of Michigan, LLC, which was created with the owners of Hydromat. In 1997, Karaisz and partners purchased Novi Precision Products; he has been president since 1999. Novi Precision Products is a custom machine tool builder and integrator whose products include automation, assembly lines, presses, pierce and notch, leak and functional test, single-station and multi-station metal removal machines.

First Vice Chairman
Steven R. Stokey is an executive with Allied Machine & Engineering, a world leader in metal cutting that serves all facets of manufacturing, which include the aerospace, defense, agriculture, automotive, heavy equipment, general machining, machine tool, mining, petrochemical, energy, renewable energy, structural steel, tool and die, and water treatment industries.

Second Vice Chairman/Treasurer
Christopher A. Bailey is an executive with Etna Products, a fourth-generation family business established in 1943 that manufactures and distributes high performing, environmentally sensitive metalworking lubricants, coolants, rust preventatives and cleaners to customers across the United States and around the world.

Secretary
Brian J. Papke now chairs Mazak, where he was president from 1989 to 2016, which is the North American manufacturing and marketing unit of Yamazaki Mazak (Oguchi, Japan). Since he joined the company in 1987, they have completed 14 expansions, including the establishment of a National Technology Center and Customer Service Support Center.

2017-2018 Directors

• John B. Cheung, chief executive officer and  co-founder, OMAX Corporation (Kent, WA)
• Michael J. Cicco, president and chief executive officer, FANUC America Corporation (Rochester Hills, MI)
• Donald D. Lane, chief executive officer, Makino, Inc. (Mason, OH)
• Lee Morris, chairman, Morris Group, Inc. (Windsor, CT)
• Ralph Resnick, president and executive director, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (Blairsville, PA)
• Paul Ricard, president, DP Technology Corp. (Camarillo, CA)

Ex-Officio

• Richard L. Simons, president and chief executive officer, Hardinge Inc. (Elmira, NY)
• Jerry Rex, executive vice president, Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA)

www.amtonline.org