Back to Basics – 2.0
Join us at this year’s Operations Managers Meeting, where operations personnel from around the country will gather to address challenges they’re facing in the current manufacturing environment. This year we are returning to essentials, updated for today’s technology.
The program includes:
- roundtable discussions with other plant managers
- speakers with expertise in manufacturing
- presentations from suppliers on the latest developments
- plant tours at Mount Joy Wire & Paramount Die facilities
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable perspectives to revolutionize operational effectiveness in your facility.
PROGRAM and SCHEDULE
Tuesday, October 17
Tuesday begins with meetings of the Operations Steering Committee (10:30 am) and Environmental Affairs & Safety Subcommittee (10:30 am). If you are interested in serving on either of these committees, please contact Heather in the AWPA office.
The General Session begins at 1:00 pm.
Fundamentals of Wire Drawing
Brad Andrews of Condat will walk us through the basics of wire drawing, from the various options for surface preparation through the use of dies and lubricants, to troubleshooting issues with soaps and dust. We'll follow with a question and answer period. Combine this with plant tours and roundtables and you have a great introduction to the industry for your new personnel, and a nice refresher for your experienced hands.
Recruiting: What's Working Now
The workforce shortage is real, and the National Association of Manufacturers projects that by 2030, there could be 2.1 million manufacturing jobs unfilled, at a cost to the economy of 1 trillion dollars for that year alone. With reliable, well-paid work available, manufacturers still seem to have a hard time getting the word out and finding good candidates. Hear a discussion of the issues and the latest tactics manufacturers are using to recruit workers.
Wire Industry Safety Benchmarking 2022
The AWPA will have the latest from the 2022 safety report. Each year we collect the data from companies' annual OSHA 300A Summaries to calculate industry-wide safety performance data and provide member wire companies the ability to compare their safety performance to other plants, and to wire industry averages. See where the industry stands, and hear why your company's participation matters.
Supplier Presentations
Each year we hear from supplier companies, about improvements and advances in products and technology. These presentations are always one of the highlights of the meeting.
Wednesday, October 18
We’ll start with an early breakfast then board the bus at 7:00 am to head to Mount Joy Wire Corporation in Mount Joy, PA, and Paramount Die in Abingdon, MD. After a tour of both facilities and lunch, we’ll head to the Baltimore airport (BWI) for a drop-off at 3:00 pm. For everyone not catching flights Wednesday evening, we’ll be back at the hotel about 3:30 pm.
See who has registered – check back to see who else will be in Baltimore this October.
The following list shows all reviewed attendees as of 12/28/2024.
| Attendee Name | Title | Company |
| Mr. Jonathan E. Anderson | Sales Guy | Aztech Lubricants by Kodiak |
| Mr. Brad Andrews | Senior Market Manager Wire Drawing | Condat Corporation |
| Yogesh Bagve | Senior Process Engineer | Bekaert Corporation |
| Ms. Emily Bardach | Executive Director | American Wire Producers Association |
| John Barrett | President & COO | Acme Manufacturing Company |
| Steven Barrett | Process Engineer | Bridgestone Metalpha USA, Inc. |
| Matthew Beyers | Product Specialist | Hyperion Materials & Technologies |
| Mr Tim Bostic | Environmental / Safety Manager | Mid-South Wire Company |
| Mr. Guilherme Brum | General Manager | Traxit North America, LLC |
| Mr. Michael T. Colvin | Director of R&D/Manufacturing | Aztech Lubricants by Kodiak |
| Jim Craver | Wire Drawing | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| MR. Joe Curtin | Vice President of Manufacturing | Taubensee Steel & Wire Company |
| Mr. Keith Drewry | Human Resource Manager | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Mary Dunn | Regional Quality Manager | HSM Solutions |
| Mr. Brian Enlow | Production & Distribution Operations Manager | MAR-MAC Industries, Inc. |
| Mr. Bryan Estep | Plant Manager | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Jody Fulbright | Plant Manager | Granite Falls Furnace |
| David Funderburk | Plant Manger | M&B Metal Products Company |
| Mr. Robert Gibbs | Foreman | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Mr Jason Giebfried | Sales Engineer | Paramount Die |
| Mr. Scott Gipson | Sales Engineer | Paramount Die |
| Alfonso Gomez | Plant Manager | WMC |
| Mr. Tracy Gooding | Director of Technical Operations | MAR-MAC Industries, Inc. |
| Isaac Green | Foreman | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Ruben Gutierrez | Plant Manager | WMC |
| Martin Hahn | Product Manager | Paramount Die |
| Mr. Mark Hall | Sales Manager NA | Schlatter North America Inc. |
| Jeremy Hanner | Plant Manager | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Antonio Hernandez | Maintenance Manager | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Mr. Mark Hurt | General Manager | WCJ Pilgrim Wire |
| Bryant Jackson | Drawing Supervisor | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Mr. Eric Jensen | EH&S Compliance Manager | Tree Island Steel |
| Tony Jentz | Production Supervisor | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Deric Johnson | Plant Scheduler | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| donald eugene jones III | Team leader | MAR-MAC Industries, Inc. |
| Mr. Simon Jones | Operations Coordinator | WCJ Pilgrim Wire |
| Mr. William C. Jones | President | WCJ Pilgrim Wire |
| Mr. Brian Killam | Sales Manager - Western Division | Gerard Daniel Worldwide |
| Mr. Albert Kozlowski | Vice President | Morgan-Koch Corporation |
| Nathan Kozlowski | Machinery & Spare Parts Sales | Morgan-Koch Corporation |
| Mr Michael Krueger | Regional Sales Manager | Traxit North America, LLC |
| Francisco Lopez | Operations Manager | Bekaert Corporation |
| Mr. Neil C. Lowdon | Key Industry Manager | Chemetall/BASF |
| Calvin Lowman | Plant Supervisor | HSM Solutions |
| Mr. Mack Magnus | President | M&B Metal Products Company |
| Mr. Ryan Marion | Technical Sales | Traxit North America, LLC |
| Mr. David Mayo | General Manager | Taubensee Steel & Wire Company |
| Mr Brian McMillan | General Manager | Liberty Wire Johnstown |
| Mr. Ethan Moore | Quality Assurance | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Mr. Robert Moriarty | General Manager | Gerard Daniel Worldwide |
| Mr. Kevin C. Natterstad | Safety Manager | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Mr. Jose Navarrete | Operations director | WMC |
| Mr. Robert Nelson | Plant Manager | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Mr. Josh Nichols | Operations Manager | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Brian Osburn | Plant Manager | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Ms. Heather E Outhuse | Associate Director | American Wire Producers Association |
| Mr. Dan Overstreet | Production Operations Finish Mill Manager | Tokusen USA, Inc. |
| Mr. Virgilio Pineda Chavez | Mid Continent Steel and Wire Inc. | |
| MR Rodrigo Ramirez | Production Manager | WMC |
| John Renteria Ludena | Technical Services Manager | Enkotec Company Inc. |
| John Reynolds | Master Scheduler | Gerard Daniel Worldwide |
| Mr. David Roos | Operations Manager | Mid-South Wire Company |
| Mr. Stephane Ruelle | Operations Manager | Condat Corporation |
| Scott Santo | Plant Manager | Fayette Custom Wire Products |
| Mr. Richard D. Sarver | President | Paramount Die |
| Ms. Cheryl Schwab | Corporate Human Resources Manager | Tokusen USA, Inc. |
| Mr. Chad Selvy | Maintenance Foreman | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Kevin Selvy | Foreman | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Brad Shreiner | Production Manager | WCJ Pilgrim Wire |
| William Simpson | Project Coordinator | Mid-South Wire Company |
| Mr. Krish N Singh | Senior Director Of Operations | Tree Island Steel |
| Mr. Puneet Singh | Corporate Engineer | Sumiden Wire Products Corporation |
| Johnathan Sisk | Process Engineer | Bridgestone Metalpha USA, Inc. |
| Mr. Steve Tucker | Plant Manager - MERIT STEEL | Leggett & Platt, Inc. |
| Dennis van der Eerden | General Manager | All America Threaded Products, Inc. |
| Javier Villafuerte | Plant Manager | WMC |
| Mr. David J. Weinand | Executive Vice President | Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc. |
| Tim Whitehouse | Plant Manager | Bekaert Corporation |