THE INTERVIEW
Demand for ergonomic lifting is on the rise
Lee Bailey has been the manager of Manufacturing Integration & Engineering for Schmalz Vacuum Technology for nearly eight years and is current president of MMA (the Monorail Manufacturers Association), part of MHI, the US (Material Handling, Logistics and Supply Chain Association), where he will complete his two-year term in December 2025.
M
MA members promote the importance of patented and enclosed track underhung cranes and monorail
systems with programmes and policies reviewed and adopted by the membership, with representation from each member company. The body is represented on a number of standards developing committees and actively supports the development and certification of safety standards by ANSI (the American National Standards Institute).
OCH: What drives you as an industry leader? LB: I enjoy taking on a challenge. My position allows me to see the full scope of the project from beginning to the end result and work closely with the customer in the process. It's interesting to look at a wide variety of applications and the challenges that they present. I enjoy coming up with unique solutions that meets their needs – that’s what drives me. I've been in manufacturing for 40 years, and the crane industry for the last eight, which is the same amount of time I’ve been with MHI.
OCH: What is your biggest business inspiration? LB: I am a problem solver at heart and always try to improve the efficiency of applications for my customers. It is very rewarding when I see that my ideas have had a positive impact on cost savings, productivity and workplace safety. I grew up wanting to be an engineer and have built my career in that field. I would always rather be physically involved while working on a project instead of sitting at a desk. So, dealing with the crane and vacuum industry with their different applications brings me a lot of satisfaction.
Lee Bailey
OCH: What is your business philosophy? LB: I try to put myself in the position of the customer and ask myself if I would be satisfied with this product? My goal is always to try to provide something that I myself would be happy using. I am pretty particular, so if I’m happy, then usually the customer is also happy.
OCH: Why and how did you enter this business? LB: I'm a mechanical engineer by trade and a licensed professional engineer.
I was born about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh,
PA, in the coal mining and steel industry area and graduated high school there. I moved to Atlanta to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology where I gained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. From there, I went to Charleston, SC, to work for the Robert Bosch Corporation and then came to Raleigh, NC, to start a manufacturing facility for Schunk. Like I said, I've been in manufacturing for
40 years, dealing with everything from high production manufacturing of automotive parts
ochmagazine.com | Winter 2024 27
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