As a way to recognize young talent making their mark on the packaging and processing industries, PMMI set out to find 10 rising stars.OEM杂志spoke with each论崛起奖winner to learn about the challenges they have faced and overcome, as well as where they see the packaging and processing industries heading in the near future.
Xavier Gonzalez
Quality Manager,Formers International
Throughout his time at Formers International, Xavier Gonzalez has had the opportunity to lead special projects that have developed new products, gained new customers, and adopted new processes. Most recently, he oversaw the company’s process of obtaining an ISO 9001:2015 certification, which is an international standard for a quality management system. Creating and preparing the required documentation, implementation of employee training, and establishing departmental procedures were just a few things he has contributed to in the process of receiving the certification.
“获得此认证具有，并将极大地影响我们业务的内部和外部成功，”Gonzalez说。“这个过程是我很自豪地说我是一部分。”
Meredith Perry.
Vice President of Business Operations,Spec Engineering
Meredith Perry.has grown and evolved alongside Spec Engineering. When she started at the company in 2011, Spec was a very small company, working to grow in the industry. Her role shifted from administrative support to sales and marketing management, and now, to vice president of business operations. She has had the chance to learn all sides of the business and help Spec grow from five employees to 100.
“I help my company innovate by actively challenging colleagues and senior leadership to question why we do things the way we do and not to get complacent,” Perry says. “From a marketing perspective, I take pride in supporting our team to keep up with trends in the market and bringing that perspective to the rest of the company.”
Anthony Zapata.
Marketing & Sales Specialist,Hiperbaric
Anthony Zapata.says his time at Hiperbaric has been valuable and purposeful. Through collaborative work with the company’s marketing team in Spain, Zapata has helped to rebrand Hiperbaric and launch a new website, while enhancing sales operations, data analysis, and lead management practices. Zapata’s team has also introduced new marketing initiatives aimed at establishing Hiperbaric as an industry thought leader, including successfully executing its first virtual conference, HPP Innovation Week 2021.
“我总是伴随着营销行业的快速速度，了解可以帮助满足我们的营销目标的新工具，并使我们的策略更高效，”Zapata说。“在如此的利基产业，品牌意识和思想领导在我们的营销计划的成功公式中至关重要。在两年的过程中，我们已经在一个强大的内容营销计划上执行，该计划曾担任教育和培养我们的领导者的资源。“
Shannon Leiter.
Manufacturing Coordinator,Kolinahr Systems, Inc.
Since Shannon Leiter joined Kolinahr Systems, her role has been ever-expanding. She began working in assembly and then was given responsibilities in purchasing, spare parts, and then, orders and shipping. Kolinahr is currently transitioning from old technology into the new era of robotics in end-of-line packaging and production volume. Through this transformation, Leiter has pushed for innovations in the standardization of parts and practices and Lean techniques while keeping her eye on the recent trends toward sustainability, predictive maintenance, and augmented reality service calls.
“Every young female engineer has had to face not being taken seriously in a male-dominated field,” Leiter says. “Lack of confidence is a major hurdle that you have to overcome. Through their professional guidance and faith in my abilities, mentors, like my dad, have helped to develop that confidence to keep me moving forward in my career.”
Aum Patel
Mechanical Engineer,Polypack，Inc。
Being a mechanical engineer, Aum Patel is at the forefront of the innovation process at Polypack. He gets to design and innovate new solutions by developing new engineering concepts and simplifying assemblies that advance the industry toward a more efficient and sustainable process, which is very important to Polypack.
“I started as an intern at Polypack in 2018,” Patel says. “After my initial internship working with the engineering department, I was brought back for a second round as a part of the controls department with the objective of advancing the integration between the engineering and controls departments. At the end of this internship, I was offered a full-time position as a mechanical engineer initially working with the controls department programming the packaging machines. Then, I transitioned to the engineering department designing the machines. As a mechanical engineer, you don’t get many opportunities to learn about the controls and programming aspect of packaging machinery. But I am glad I was given this opportunity to learn about the controls side of the machines, which made me a better mechanical engineer.”
Stacie Eberly
Senior Marketing Specialist,卓越品牌
As the senior marketing specialist, no two days are the same for Stacie Eberly, which she loves. Eberly’s role is to plan, promote, and execute Ossid’s presence at industry tradeshows and events. Another major element of her role is creating content for the company’s website, social media, email marketing, collateral development, advertising, editorial content, and blog posts. She is focused on completing her MBA degree and she hopes to bring Ossid’s marketing maturity to a new level of sophistication, providing a customer-focused experience, and expanding the company’s reach into new markets.
“Prior to working within the packaging industry, I worked for a reputable manufacturer, but there were mixed feelings about the importance of marketing, and the value a young female could bring to the organization,” Eberly says. “At Ossid, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with a supportive and encouraging supervisor. She’s created an environment where we can freely bounce around ideas, test out new tactics and bring those successes and lessons learned into each new project with the goal of getting better as we go. The leadership of Ossid and ProMach as a whole, understand the value marketing can bring to the organization.”
Kevin Fortier
Production Engineer,Bevco
Kevin Fortier is involved in projects from the very beginning planning stages through the final installation and startup of the production line, and he wears many hats. He designs conveyors and equipment, generates drawings and parts lists for the production shop, performs safety and quality control inspections, coordinates with OEMs, and transfers information between the engineering department and production shop, while also working as a project manager.
“我喜欢我工作的许多方面，但到目前为止，我最令人迷人的部分是第一次开始啤酒厂罐头线，”强蒂斯特说。“这一刻，从这个项目中的每个人都有一种兴奋的感觉。几小时，几个月，有时是规划，协调，制造，安装和故障排除的多年来导致了这一刻。每个人都期待着看到那些第一个罐头沿着输送机扫除码垛机，并通过填料扫除。顶部的樱桃是在当地啤酒店的架子上看到产品，将其带回家，打开它开放，以味道来自啤酒厂的冰冷啤酒，在那里我帮助他们的产品。“
Alexandra Francis
Aftermarket Lead,BluePrint Automation
Alexandra Francis is responsible for BluePrint Automation’s aftermarket growth as the company’s aftermarket lead. With the help of her team, Francis improved BluePrint Automation’s aftermarket business and revenue. During the height of the pandemic, the company couldn’t travel as much, which propelled Francis to develop an online training program that they could use to continue to support customers even when they were unable to be on site. She also created a revenue pipeline tool specifically for aftermarket, which is used to provide visibility on sales opportunities for service, spare parts, and to upgrade business monthly.
“你见过一些与我们的设备一起使用的机器人吗？”弗朗西斯说。“看着这些机器挑选产品，以速度令人印象深刻。我们的工程师设计定制设备和观看它的能力令人着迷。我最近去了一个客户在20年前建造的客户的网站，并知道我们建造耐用和可持续的机器让我欣赏行业的自动化方面。我很高兴继续在公司内成长。“
艾丽西娅·斯旺兹
客户经理,Intralox
Alicia Swayze在过去两年中一直在intralox，最近，最近开始作为一个客户经理的新职位。她负责发现新的项目，发展客户关系，以及转向公司饮料账户的真正伙伴关系，特别是酿造段。
“My advice to other emerging leaders would be to follow your passion,” Swayze says. “You can always learn the technology, which does take time and initiative, but don’t ever let your fear of not being an expert impede where you want to go. If you have a passion and are willing to put in the time to learn, nothing should stop you.”
斯准尔
Aftermarket Sales and Service Manager/ Project Manager,莫里森容器处理解决方案
斯准尔joined Morrison Container Handling Solutions as an inside sales manager, and within six months, was promoted to aftermarket sales and service manager. During that time, Morrison experienced a 663% increase in sales from the previous year. Most recently, Licke accepted the challenge of project manager and was instrumental in Morrison’s Thermo Fisher COVID-19 Test Kit Project success. Thermo Fisher initially requested 16 lines to increase their production of COVID-19 test kits. This request was quickly followed by another 15 lines bringing the total to 31. Under normal circumstances, 16 lines would take years to deliver. Licke, along with the team, worked around the clock to begin delivering the first 16 requested lines within three months. Thermo Fisher’s production of test kits increased 20,000%—providing the ability to produce 5.3 million kits every day.
