By Joe Franklin, Jr., President, American Gear Manufacturers Association
The Annual Meeting is always a time of transition for AGMA. At the 2015 Annual Meeting that took place a few weeks ago, we recognized a number of Board Members for their years of service and welcomed new members to the Board as well.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dean Burrows, President of Gear Motions as the Chairman of the Board for 2015-2017, as well as the appointment of Jim Bregi, President of Doppler Gear as AGMA’s new Treasurer.
The Board of Directors also welcomes four additions: Aarnout Kant, Head of Marketing and Strategy, for Siemens AG, Mechanical Drives – Winergy; Don Michael, Vice President of Manufacturing for Martin Sprocket & Gear, Inc., Power Transmission Products; Andrea Scanavini, CEO of Somaschini North America LLC / South Bend, IN and Head of Business Development of Somaschini S.p.A. / Italy; and George Thomas, Executive Vice President of Bison Gear and Engineering Corp.
Aarnout Kant began his career as a mechanical engineer at FLENDER in Germany. Prior to beginning his career he received his Dipl.-Ing. degree in mechanical engineering from the H.A.N., University of Applied Technologies in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
During his tenure with FLENDER he has also been Key Account Manager, Sales Manager- and Business Segment Manager- for the Heavy Duty Geared Products. FLENDER was acquired by SIEMENS in 2006 and in 2008 he went with his family on a five year assignment to Elgin, Illinois to ramp-up the new factories for Siemens, Mechanical Drives in the USA. He is currently responsible for strategy & marketing at the headquarters of Siemens AG, Mechanical Drives – Winergy in Germany, implementing restructuring and investments on a global basis.
Married for 24 years to wife Laura, they have a son, Matthijs and a daughter, Celine, who currently both attend the international school in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
Don Michael began his career with SKF in Philadelphia as an Industrial Engineer. He subsequently moved to T.B. Wood’s Sons Co. (Altra) for 20 years in Plant and Manufacturing Manager roles. For the last 19 years, since 1996, he has worked for Martin Sprocket & Gear, Inc., in Arlington, Texas. He is currently responsible for 6 facilities producing a wide range of mechanical power transmission products. Martin’s in-house capabilities include a foundry, powdered metal, plastics, and conventional machining.
Prior to starting his career he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia in Commerce and Engineering. In subsequent years he also received an MBA in Management and Finance from Drexel.
Married for 43 years to wife Bea, they have three sons: Don, who is a Major in the U.S. Air Force; Brian, a Vice President with Generac Corp.; and the youngest, Dan, who is a Supply Chain Manager with Sherwin-Williams. They also have five grandchildren.
Andrea Scanavini, after a first technical experience in gear and transmission design, began his career as shareholder of a small company specialized in special mechanical transmissions in Italy. Prior to beginning his career he received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bologna/Italy in 1976. In 1988, after the sale of his company, Andrea became Sales & Marketing Director of Graziano Trasmissioni in Turin: then between 1990 and 1992 he leaded the German Subsidiary of Rossi Gearmotors.
From 1992 till 2008 he worked as Sales & Marketing Director of mG miniGears S.p.A. and gave a big support for the foundation of two additional plants in USA (2000 in Virginia Beach, VA) and in China (2004 in Suzhou). At the end of 2008 Andrea moved to the industrial group Somaschini with the mission to open a plant in USA and since 2012 he has been the CEO of Somaschini North America LLC.
Andrea has been also very active in the professional associations connected with the gear industry: in 1982 he was Board Member of Assiot and during the ‘90s he was for several years Vice-President of the same association. At the beginning of the new century he was appointed as Vice-President of Eurotrans and then he was elected President (2005-2008). Today Andrea is again Board Member of Assiot and Chairman of the Economic Committee.
Andrea was born in Ferrara/Italy in 1952 and is married with Sabrina for 9 years, who is still working in the purchasing department of mG miniGears S.p.A. Andrea has a son (Simon – 32 years) from the first marriage and is very proud of his young daughter Elena (7 years) who will be a guest this year of the AGMA Annual Meeting for the fifth time.
George Thomas has worked at Bison Gear for 32 years, holding positions as Application Engineer, Product Manager, V.P. of Engineering, and is currently Bison’s Executive Vice President responsible for the Supply Chain. He received his B.S. degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois.
He has been married to Donna for 30 years and they have 3 children and one grandchild.
I look forward to working with our new Board of Directors this coming year, and would encourage you to reach out to any of AGMA’s Board members if you have any questions or ideas for AGMA.
Make sure you plan on joining us October 20-22 at Cobo Center. Hotel reservations and registration are now open at www.gearexpo.com, so make your plans now.
I’ll see you there.
AGMA Prepares for a Busy Fall of Education
This year, AGMA education opportunities are going strong, with several programs selling out this spring. This fall, Gear Expo will offer an increased number of educational seminars, and AGMA will also offer several seminars throughout the country. As these programs will fill quickly. Reserve your space today.
Gear Manufacturing & Inspection: Methods, Practices, Application & Interpretation for the Design Engineer will be held September 29-October 1 in Rosemont, IL.
In this seminar, students gain a broad understanding of the methods used to manufacture and inspect gears – and much more. The course takes the process one step further, teaching how the resultant information can be applied and interpreted in the design process.
Most gear inspection centers on gear tooth geometry, however, various nondestructive and destructive tests (such as ultrasonic, magnetic particle, acid etch, etc.) are also required to ensure the quality of the basic gear material and the results of various heat treatment procedures. This seminar covers the basics of a variety of these tests, including their underlying theory, application techniques and, most importantly, interpretation of the resultant data.
This seminar aims to narrow and possibly close the information gap by providing gear design engineers with a good foundation in both manufacturing and inspections processes and procedures.
Please note: This seminar is not a tutorial in the mechanics of machine operation; rather, the content addresses the relation between the manufacturing/inspection sequence and the detailed gear design process.
The ever popular Gear Failure Analysis Seminar will be held September 21-23 in Big Sky, Montana.
Avoid gear failure and save thousands of dollars in repair costs by knowing what causes gear failure and how to prevent it from occurring. This course is a perennial sell-out, and is limited to 30 students, so register soon!
In the Gear Failure Analysis Seminar, students will examine the various types of gear failure, such as macropitting, micropitting, scuffing, tooth wear and breakage. Possible causes of these failures will be presented, along with some suggested ways to avoid them.
Gear failure analysis expert Robert Errichello will use a variety of tools and methods – lectures, slide presentations, hands-on workshops with failed gears and Q&A sessions – to give students a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for gear failure. Participants are encouraged to bring their own failed gears or photographs and discuss them during the Q&A sessions.
The seminar brings together a vast amount of knowledge not available elsewhere. It will help solve the everyday problems that gear engineers, users, researchers, maintenance technicians, lubricant experts, and managers face.
At Gear Expo, October 20-22 in Detroit you will be able to see more than 55,000 square feet of exhibits, and also have the opportunity to take one of several education programs. For more information on these programs, visit www.gearexpo.com.
Gear Expo education programs include:
• Training School for Gear Manufacturing
• Lubrication of Gearing
• Why Bearings are Damaged
• Gearbox Maintenance
• How to Specify a Gear System
• High Profile Contact Ratio Gearing: Concept, Advantages, Comparison & Cautions
• Counterfeit Bearings: What You Need To Know
• Taming Tooth Deflections: The Case for Profile Modifications
• Materials Selection & Heat Treatment of Gears
• Cylindrical Gear Inspection: Chart Reading and Interpretation
More seminars and webinars will be announced soon, so make sure to visit www.agma.org often for the latest information!
AGMA Welcomes Its Newest Members
The AGMA membership is vibrant and growing – with more than 25 companies joining the Association in the past six months. AGMA now represents more than 470 companies in 30 countries. To find out more about these companies, visit their websites listed below. To find out more about AGMA and how membership can benefit your company, visit www.agma.org or e-mail membership@agma.org.
Accelerated Machine Design& Engineering
www.accmach.com
AF Global Corporation
www.afglobalcorp.com/steelind
American Precision Gear Company
www.amgear.com
Blaser Swisslube Inc.
www.blaser.com
Burgi Engineers LLC
www.burgiengineers.com
Combat Vehicles Research & Development
www.drdo.org
D.L. Borden, Inc.
Donald Borden – independent consultant located in Brookfield, WI.
Dennis R. Regan, Consulting Engineer
Independent consultant located in Pine Grove, CA
Ecole de Technologie Superieure
www.etsmtl.ca
EDF Renewable Energy
www.edf-re.com
Engineered Propulsion Systems
www.eps.aero
FFF Australia Pty Ltd
www.forgings.com.au
Gearench
www.gearench.com
GIW Minerals
www.giwindustries.com
Mahr Federal inc.
www.mahr.com
RBB Engineering LLC
www.rbbengineering.com
Ringfeder Power Transmission USA Corp
www.ringfeder.com
Rotek Incorporated
www.rotek-inc.com
Santasalo Gear Inc.
www.santasalo.com
Seco/Warwick Corporation
www.secowarwick.com
SKF Industrial Market
www.skf.com
Tamarack Consultants LLC
Located in Three Lakes, WI.
TimkenSteel
www.timkensteel.com
Top Gear Transmissions
www.topgeartransmission.com
Ueda Heavy Gear Works Ltd.
www.ueda-tekkosho.co.jp
University of Texas at Arlington
www.uta.edu
University of Victoria
www.uvic.ca
Worthington Industries
www.worthingtonindustries.com
York Industries
www.york-ind.com
View this list with abstracts about the individual members online at gearsolutions.com.
