16 / May 2019 / ControlDesign.comWE RECENTLY CAUGHT up with several individuals leading their
organizations into the new frontier of automation and manu-
facturing. Our panel’s considerable experience and new posi-
tions gives their answers all the more credibility.
Manufacturer of Magliner aluminum material handling
equipment, Magline recently welcomed Fran Bridges as vice
president of engineering following a position as vice president
of operations for Segway in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Bridges is responsible for the development, design and inno-
vation of new products, as well as continuous improvement of
current designs to assist in growing and strengthening its line
of product offerings.
“I’m extremely excited to add Fran to our team,” says Greg
Ecker, president and COO of Magline. “As a bilingual design
technical leader and program manager, he brings more than 20
years of experience defining, planning and implementing multi-
faceted programs.”
During the organization’s annual CAN in Automation (CiA)
General Assembly, the organization’s members re-elected the
three members of the board, Technical Director Uwe Koppe,
Business Director Christian Schlegel and Managing Director
Holger Zeltwanger.
Besides the board of directors, the organization elected the
members of the CiA Technical Committee (TC) and of the CiA
Business Committee. Bosch, Emsa, Emtas, ESD Electronics and
HMS Networks are the elected members of the CiA Technical
Committee. Additionally, the TC comprises representatives of
the interest groups CANopen, CANopen FD, CAN layer-1/2, CiA
profiles, security and safety, as well as commercial vehicles.
Rittal North America’s new managing director Mike Freund
thinks they can help you transcend the traditional data center.
The company recently brought Freund on as managing direc-
tor, where he will lead an executive team responsible for the
growth of the company’s operations, manufacturing, sales and
administrative functions.
Prior to joining Rittal, Freund was director of technical
sales, support and training at Schneider Electric. “We are
pleased to welcome him to the team,” says Koen Wolfcarius,executive vice president for Rittal North and South America.
“We’re confident that his expertise will help grow Rittal’s busi-
ness in the United States.”
Beckhoff Automation appointed Kevin Barker as president
in February, and he will manage Beckhoff business operations
across the United States. Barker takes over the leadership role
that Aurelio Banda has held for four years. As president, Barker
will oversee all sales, engineering, marketing and administra-
tive operations from the headquarters in Savage, Minnesota.
Over an eight-year tenure at Yaskawa, Barker led multinational
sales teams with the responsibility to develop complex industrial
markets, large sales channels and advanced motion control offer-
ings, including the company’s lineup of EtherCAT servo drives.
According to Barker, the prospects for developing the mar-
ket in general automation technology and a rapidly evolving
portfolio of motion-control solutions were major factors in his
decision to join Beckhoff Automation and lead the subsidiary
into a new era.
Phoenix Contact USA recently promoted Kevin Zak to the role
of vice president and general manager. Zak, who will celebrate
25 years with the company later this year, will oversee the com-
pany’s U.S. sales subsidiary, including sales, marketing, channel
operations and service functions within the United States.
Zak joined Phoenix Contact in 1994 as a district application
engineer, serving the Carolinas and Virginia. He held several
management positions in the Phoenix Contact field sales orga-
nization. In 2 007, Kevin moved to Harrisburg to become the na-
tional sales manager for Phoenix Contact’s industrial business.
In 2 011, he was named vice president for the Industrial Controls
and Electronics Division.
CDM Electronics, a distributor of electronic connectors and
cables, promoted Robert S. Grzib to marketing manager. Accord-
ing to CDM, it’s Grzib’s expertise in railway and automation that
has led to his success at the company.
Grzib joined the CDM team in 2012 as product manager before
assuming an increasingly greater role in marketing activities. His
30 + years of electronic-component industry experience includes
a tenure as product line manager at Eaton/Cooper Interconnect.From here to the future of automation
Industry leaders share their experience and insights to predict where we’re headedby Mike Bacidore, chief editormachine input
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