Manufacturing leaders honored

At the ninety-second annual gala of the Technology & Manufacturing Association at the Renaissance in Schaumburg, 300 Illinois manufacturers and their families came together to foster relationships, celebrate success stories and look forward to the upcoming year.

The evening included welcoming incoming Chairman Todd Beauchamp, of Aurora-based ASK Power, and his fellow recently elected officers. They include Vice Chairman Rich Hoster of Smith & Richardson in Geneva, Treasurer Tom Hacker of C & L Supreme in Des Plaines and Aaron Wiegel of Wood Dale-based Wiegel Tool Works, immediate past chairman.

"I want to thank Chairman Aaron Wiegel for his service to TMA and the manufacturing industry. Under his leadership this past year, we continued to improve our programs and better support manufacturing throughout the region," said Steve Rauschenberger, who was re-elected as secretary and president of TMA. "We're excited to see Chairman Beauchamp build on this momentum as we add value to our members and continue to grow TMA."

Incoming Chairman Todd Beauchamp talked about the challenges facing manufacturing, especially in Illinois. "We cannot face these challenges alone. We must come together as a community and support each other," said Chairman Beauchamp. "I'm looking forward to the year ahead as we develop a vision for TMA's future and re-formalize our strategic plan. Together, we will accomplish great things for manufacturing."

The Rose Mottl Award, presented to an outstanding female manufacturer, was awarded to Teresa Beach-Shelow of Superior Joining Technologies. She co-founded Women of Today's Manufacturing in 2003 to encourage young people into manufacturing, and they now have 65 manufacturing camps across the U.S.

The Young Leaders Award, presented to an up-and-coming leader in manufacturing, was presented to Carlos Olivo, Quality Manager of Electro-Max Inc. He worked his way up the ladder, learning leadership skills along the way. He now heads up quality control, and since he's taken over there have been zero rejections and significantly-reduced quality issues.

The Winzeler Award, the most prestigious honor given by TMA each year, was awarded to Paul Ziegenhorn of Matrix Plastics Products in Wood Dale. He co-founded his company in 1978 in a small rental space, and under his guidance it has grown to 30,000 square feet with approximately 85 employees.