CM announces Excellence & Innovation Award winners
25 Oct '07
4 min read
Composites Manufacturing (CM) magazine and the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) announced the 2007 Excellence & Innovation Award winners at COMPOSITES & POLYCON 2007, the most comprehensive composites conference in the world.
The awards recognize outstanding achievements by individuals as well as companies in seven separate categories, including: plant or project management, production supervisor, manufacturing employee, composites engineering, environmental health and safety, community stewardship, and manufacturing process.
Winners of the award for Excellence in Plant/Project Management were the leaders of the team that developed the new 2008 Yamaha WaveRunner NanoXcel hull, deck and liner.
Terry VanHyfte of the Molding Products Division of the Interplastic Corporation, South Bend, IN, and Harold Wallace of Yamaha Motors Corporation, Newnan, Ga, assembled a team that created compression molded WaveRunner parts using low-density SMC that could satisfy performance needs (scratch resistance, durability, longevity, color) yet be molded and processed on existing equipment. This was the first large-scale application of the Nano-composite technology in the thermoset market.
Tim Vanek, production supervisor for Dynamic Fabricators, Rathdrum, Idaho, received the E&I for Excellence as a Production Supervisor based on his years of committed service and professional growth for a company that has seen many changes, including a successful ownership transition and compliance and enforcement issues.
As a team leader, he played a significant role in establishing and upholding a high standard for safety, recently celebrating a one-year anniversary for no time lossed among workers.
For Excellence as a Manufacturing Employee, the award went to Mark Becker and Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures Hand Layup Group, Belding, Mich, Lead manufacturing employee, Becker was first to detect a design defect in the initial production runs of a new free-standing large industrial enclosure, noticing that the enclosure could tip forward if the doors were opened prior to its installation.
He assisted the engineering staff in developing a stabilizing method and stickers for the outside of the doors to warn customers and avert potential safety risks.
The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, took the E&I for Innovation in Composites Engineering for successfully leading the Composites Affordability Initiative (CAI), the largest composites program in the Department of Defense (DoD), launched to reduce the cost and risk of applying composites to military aircraft.
marketing@alchempro.com
