OFFICERS

Travis Young
PEMA President

Travis Young is CEO of Vortex Global in Salina, KS. Vortex is a global engineering and manufacturing company specializing in process gates, diverter valves, and dustless loading solutions for dry bulk solids. His career at Vortex began as Director of International Business, overseeing the company’s exports. He later established Vortex’s operations in Europe and Asia, serving for 10 years as Managing Director of Vortex Global Limited in the United Kingdom. In his current role, Travis is responsible for Vortex’s strategy and marketing direction. Travis holds a B.A. in Marketing and International Business from Kansas State University. In addition to PEMA, he serves on the Board of Directors of other non-profit and for-profit entities. Travis and his wife Melanie have two sons and reside in Salina, Kansas.

Robert Bunting
PEMA Vice President

Robert Bunting is the President & CEO of Bunting, overseeing the continued growth of the global Bunting group. Prior to assuming the President & CEO mantle, Robert was the General Manager for Bunting Elk Grove Village, IL. As the General Manager, he managed Operations, Sales, and Customer Service staff. Robert is the driver for sales growth via the e-commerce site, www.BuyMagnets.com,  through SEO development, PPC management and Google Shopping. He was influential in launching a new site built using WordPress and WooCommerce. At this same time, Robert has been one of the co-chairs driving the organizational-wide renewed strategic plan. Robert is a 3-time winner of Bunting’s prestigious Product Manager of the Year. Robert stays involved, active and volunteers his time on PMMI’s Business Intelligence Committee. He is a member of a local Vistage KEY Group.

Outside of work, Robert has completed 2 Ironman Triathlons, over 20 Half Ironman 70.3 Triathlons, dozens of half marathons, and countless bike races. He is an avid city gardener, loves travelling to National Parks with his wife Becky, and enjoys a good craft beer on his roof top with Ivy, his Labrador Retriever, at his side.

Chuck Mitchell
PEMA Treasurer

Chuck Mitchell is the VP of Sales and Marketing for Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc in Louisville, KY.  Established in 1950, Carrier is internationally known for outstanding innovation in the field of vibratory technology.  He is a graduate of University of Louisville, Speed Scientific School with a Master of Engineering (MEng), Mechanical Engineering.  Chuck joined Carrier in 1997 as a Project Engineer. In his current role he is responsible for the inside and outside sales force, contract negotiations, forecasting, new product development and is an integral part of the corporate development team.  In addition to PEMA, Chuck is also a member of the American Foundry Society (AFS) and hold two US Patents in the field of vibratory technology.  He and his wife Sandi live in Louisville, KY with their two teenage children.

PEMA IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Chris Nawalaniec
President of Stedman Machine Company, Inc.

Chris Nawalaniec is the President of Stedman Machine Company, Inc., Aurora, Indiana. Chris joined the company in 2004 as National Sales Manager, responsible for new machinery and systems sales. Current responsibilities include sales and general management, strategic planning, marketing and new product development. In his role at Stedman, Chris has been part of a team that helps customers improve their dry material processing systems in a wide range of international industries. Founded in 1834, Stedman assists its customers with improvement of product quality, lower operating costs and development of new products with size reduction and material processing expertise. Chris is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati: BSME, MBA. His career has been working with custom design, make-to-order manufacturing companies. Chris resides in Cincinnati with his wife Julie and their two college-aged children.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Brittany Dollimore
Sales and Marketing Manager, ACS Valves

Brittany Dollimore brings more than 15 years of bulk processing industry experience to her role as Vice President of Sales at ACS Valves. With in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the job, from the sales office to the manufacturing warehouse, she’s a go-to resource for many rotary airlock customers. She also works closely with the gypsum mixer experts at ACS Valves’ sister company, ACS Mixers.

Brittany is always focused on how her team can work together to provide the best possible experience to their customers. She brings a collaborative mindset to her work, encouraging communication both inside and outside of the department. Her favorite part of the job is the people she gets to work with each day, colleagues and customers alike.

In her spare time, Brittany enjoys trying out new baking recipes and techniques, reading (she’s a proud book club member), and spending time with her husband Phil and daughter Madeleine.

Jim Egan
Vice President, Sales and Marketing – General Kinematics

BIO COMING SOON

Andy Forrester
VP Sales & Marketing, Thayer Scale

Andy Forrester is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Thayer Scale. He manages the company’s continued expansion of Thayer Scale’s direct and indirect sales channels both in existing markets and in new markets and geographic regions. In addition, Forrester is focused on strengthening the company’s relationships with existing customers in the Food, Chemical and Energy markets by aligning the company’s equipment sales, aftermarket sales and service activities. His role is based out of the company’s headquarters facility in Pembroke, Mass.

Prior to serving in his role at Thayer Scale, he was the V.P. of Sales and Marketing at Spiroflow Systems, where he led the company’s process equipment sales team. He also served as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Kice Industries, an engineering company with a focus on dry bulk material handling and dust control solutions. Earlier in his career, Forrester assumed numerous marketing and sales positions at the Hilti Corporation with an emphasis on the Energy and Industry segments.

Forrester has a Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in Information Technology from Shrivenham University, England. He received a diploma in Business Management from Westminster University, England, along with various other advanced training certifications. Andy also served as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Air Force. During his free time, he enjoys time with his family, cycling, Moto-trials, golf, and travel.

Rich Gaffney
Vice President, Commercial Operations – Sentry Equipment Corp.

BIO COMING SOON

Craig Macklin
President, The Cleveland Vibrator Company

BIO COMING SOON

Kyle Rhodes
VP Sales & Marketing – MPI (Magnetic Products, Inc.)

Kyle Rhodes is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Magnetic Products, Inc. (MPI) in Highland, Michigan. Established in 1981, MPI helps industrial manufacturers control metal in their production process by manufacturing reliable industrial magnetic and metal control equipment that removes contaminants, separates, or conveys metal. Kyle joined MPI in 2009 and has held positions is manufacturing, purchasing, sales and marketing. He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and MBA from Michigan State University. Kyle and his wife, Jennifer, have one daughter and reside in Milford, MI.

Richard Weeks
Director Of Sales – The Dupps Company

Richard Weeks is Director of Sales at The Dupps Company in Germantown Ohio. Founded in 1935, The Dupps Company is still family owned and acknowledged as the industry leader in the manufacture and application of products and systems used in the protein recycling industry.

Richard is a graduate of Ryerson University Mechanical Engineering in Toronto Canada and prior to joining The Dupps Company in 2014, he was a founding member of three different industrial product start-up ventures. He has significant experience in a wide range of process control industries and has championed sales and marketing efforts on an international basis. Richard and his wife Mardi reside in Centerville Ohio and travel frequently to visit their three children and seven grandchildren.

Julie Whitten
Vacuum Conveying Division Manager – Piab USA, Inc.

BIO COMING SOON

John Winski
Director Of Sales – Coperion K-Tron

John Winski is the Director of Sales for Coperion K-Tron. Coperion K-Tron is a global engineering and manufacturing company offering state-of-the-art feeding, pneumatic conveying and complete material handling systems. John joined the company in 1987 and has held positions in field engineering, project engineering and various sales support and management positions. In his current role, he manages the sales network for North, South and Central America. John has an electronics engineering technology degree from Temple University. An avid musician, John spends his spare time playing saxophone with the Greater Kensington String Band where he parades annually every New Year’s day. John and his wife Christine reside in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and have two adult children.

STAFF

Elizabeth B. Armstrong, MAM, CAE, QAS
PEMA Executive Director & Secretary

Elizabeth Armstrong is Executive Director for the Process Equipment Manufacturers’ Association. Beth is the president of Association and Society Management International (ASMI) – PEMA’s management company – and chief staff executive for several of its clients, leading service teams and ensuring the annual work plans are executed successfully. She began her career as PEMA’s membership and statistics manager in the late 80s. Beth’s areas of expertise include service delivery approaches for non-profit organizations, board and committee management, non-profit account, marketing, and member services. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the AMC Institute. Beth holds a BBA in Marketing from the College of William and Mary and a Master of Association Management from The George Washington University. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE credential earned through ASAE); and a Qualified Association Specialist (QAS credential earned through the Florida Society of Association Executives).

Harry (Buzz) W. Buzzerd, Jr., CAE
PEMA Management Counsel

Harry (Buzz) W. Buzzerd, Jr., CAE, has served as Management Counsel to the Process Equipment Manufacturers’ Association since 1983. He began his association management career in 1964 and holds a CAE (Certified Association Executive) designation. He earned a B.A. from Gettysburg College, along with extensive graduate and professional education. In addition to his work with PEMA, Buzz is Management Counsel to the Association of Vacuum Equipment Manufacturers and the American Textile Machinery Association. He is Chairman and owner of Association and Society Management International, Inc., which he founded in 1982.