Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine- and medium-pitch custom gears, recognized several employees for their long-term dedication to the company, including Jason Slaven (15 years), Vilay Cunningham (10 years), Roger McMullin (10 years), Paul Cristoph (5 years), Mark Javurek (5 years), and Jason Kenyon (5 years).
Jason Slaven is Forest City Gear’s shaping/sharpening lead. Slaven came to Forest City Gear with 12 years’ experience in cutter grinding and sharpening, and 16 years’ experience in thread and gear grinding. Slaven started in Forest City Gear’s sharpening department where he spent one year before moving to gear grinding, later moving on to the hobbing department and serving as the lead there.
Vilay Cunningham is a member of Forest City Gear’s gear finishing department. Her primary responsibilities include removing burrs from finished and in-process parts, as well as inspecting them for damage and ensuring they meet dimensional requirements. Deburring medium- to small-pitch gears can be particularly challenging, requiring a deep understanding of the correct tools and techniques — an expertise Cunningham has mastered.
Roger McMullin is Forest City Gear’s most experienced lathe setup tech, with his focus primarily on the Hardinge and DMG Mori Twin Spindle machines. He started in Forest City Gear’s high-volume department, running hard part turning. In 2019, he was one of the originals in the revival of the CNC machining department within the Roscoe Works building and has been key in the growth of the department throughout the years.
Paul Cristoph is a member of the team who has held multiple roles in his five years at Forest City Gear; he has worked in the lap/hone area, the OD/ID grinding area, and recently working as an operator in the Roscoe Works facility running turning and milling machines. Cristoph is a valued asset to Forest City Gear in that he is willing to work in any department at any time without hesitation.
Mark Javurek is a manufacturing engineer, focusing on the facilitation of manufacturing operations for efficient product realization and customer satisfaction. He is responsible for troubleshooting problems that arise during machining operation setup, nonconformance avoidance, root cause analysis, and the continuous improvement of manufacturing processes. Since joining Forest City Gear in 2020, he has served as primary liaison between engineering and production.
Jason Kenyon is a set-up technician in Forest City Gear’s hobbing department. Here, his tasks include setting up hobbing machines to produce medium- to fine-pitch gears and splines with extremely tight tolerances. Kenyon started his career at Forest City Gear in January of 2020 in the gear grinding department before eventually moving to his current position.
More info www.forestcitygear.com
