INDUSTRY FACES
Tom Renk Takes Reins as President of Family Business Tom Renk, installed last Novem-
ber as president of United Machine & Foundry Corp., Winona, Minn., is partial to the strategic plan the company put in place in the Spring of 2010. After all, it was that plan that eventually made him head of the company. “One of the projects that came out
of [the strategy] was the succession plan and [me] buying the business,”
Renk said. “Tat is what drove it.” Renk took a roundabout route to
becoming president of his family’s company, a wear parts producer that pours abrasion resistant alloys for the mining, power generation, road construction and special processes industries. Coming out of Iowa State Univ., Ames, Iowa, in the early ‘90s, he wanted to work in aerospace and build jets. But after a job pros-
pect fell through and he spent nine months kicking around his father’s company, he found a job with the American Foundry Society (AFS) working with solidification model- ing software. “My dad said there was an ad in
the back of MODERN CASTING,” Renk said. “I applied and got the job. Tat is how it all started. I didn’t really think about the metalcasting industry until I joined AFS, and then it all fell into place.” After four years, Renk had re-
stored his birthright and spent the next several years working in multiple companies in the metalcasting in- dustry until finding his way home to work full-time for United Machine & Foundry in 1997. Now, Renk is taking the reins of
the company, which maintains a ca- pacity of about 200 tons per month, and helping implement its strategic plan. He is focused on improving the business’s cleanliness, optimiz- ing its manufacturing processes and revamping its image in an attempt to find work in new markets. “We want to clean the place up,
Engineering manager Garek Barum (left) and president Tom Renk inspect a casting. Renk was re- cently made president of his family’s business, United Machine & Foundry Corp., Winona, Minn.
PERSONALS Scott Guttman joined Cast Prod-
ucts Inc., Norridge, Ill., as its vice president of sales and marketing.
General Kinematics, Crystal Lake,
Ill., promoted Tomas Musschoot to vice president of component sales and marketing. He will replace Randy Smith, who will oversee global strategic projects.
Te Society of Manufacturing
Engineers, Dearborn, Mich., named Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Pradeep Rohatgi to its col- lege of fellows for his research on cast metal-matrix composites.
OBITUARIES
J. Douglas James, Erie, Pa., died March 25 at the age of 92. A former American Foundry Society (AFS) president, James was also a Cast Metals Institute trustee and a charter mem- ber of the AFS Northwestern Pennsylvania chapter, which he helped organize and lead. James was involved in the first commercial production run of a ductile iron casting, a break- through in the industry. In 1979, he bought High Pres- sure Equipment Co., Erie, Pa., where he remained chairman
and chief executive officer until his death.
John Willet Tibbits, Sharps-
ville, Pa., died May 23. He was 95. Tibbits started in the met- alcasting industry at Canadian Steel Foundries, Longue Pointe, Montreal, Canada, before he earned his bachelor’s degree. He joined Lynn MacLeod Metal- lurgy Ltd., Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada, in 1967 and rose through the ranks until he retired as corporate vice president.
September 2011 MODERN CASTING | 17
attract better employees and be a better business in the community,” Renk said. “Tis particular business has taken a low profile because of all of the negative associations with the ‘foundry.’ A huge piece of our plan is to change that image.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68