Mike Kreps has accepted the position of plant manager for Mack’s Inman, S.C., operation. A 27-year veteran of the heavy truck and automotive industries, Kreps is a specialist in automotive quality production paint systems. Originally a chemist with United Technologies Inmont (Detroit), where he formulated and analyzed automotive top coat and clear coat technologies, Kreps went on to manage and, later, own full production paint facilities. As general manager of the Delcraft Division of Key Plastics (Montpelier, Ohio), he was responsible for the design and installation of multiple paint systems, and managed all production paint activities for Key Plastics’ molding divisions. From there, he founded his own company, Elite Enterprises, Inc. (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) to serve the production painting needs of both the heavy truck and automotive industries. Over 13 years, the company grew to $18 million in annual paint sales and more than 95 full-time employees. Kreps later built another company from the ground up – Deco Plas Inc., also in Montpelier – where, as president/owner, he was responsible for the full operations of a 77,000-sq ft production paint facility equipped with four high-volume paint lines. He will be instrumental in further developing the Class A paint system at Mack’s Inman operation. A graduate of Lawrence Institute of Technology (Southfield, Mich.), Kreps earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He and his wife, Maureen, reside in Landrum, S.C., and have three adult children. When he isn’t working, he enjoys spending time on the golf course or working toward his private pilot’s license.
Tuwana Lawrence has been promoted to human resources director for Mack’s Southern Division, with responsibility for both the Statesville, N.C., and Inman, S.C., plants. A longtime Mack employee, Lawrence has been with the company for 29 years if you count her eight-year tenure with Fame Plastics (now Mack’s Statesville facility) before it became Mack Molding in 1990. Well-suited for her new position, Lawrence has a broad base of experience with the company, from production to shipping, computer operations, and engineering before becoming human resources manager in 1991. Finding her niche, Lawrence remained in that role until this promotion. She is an alum of Mitchell Community College (Statesville, N.C.), and has two adult children – Carlos (DuJuan), who serves in the U.S. Navy and is currently deployed in Bahrain; and Christian Blake, a student at North Carolina State University, where he plays tuba for the NC State Wolfpack band. When not cheering for the Wolfpacks (and Christian!), Lawrence can be found entertaining grandchildren – Dez, Cameron, and Diylan – or enjoying family, as she is the youngest of 17 and the ‘go-to’ in the crowd for hands-on demolition, remodeling and interior decorating. She resides in Statesville.
Also joining the Inman, S.C., staff is Burchel Johnson, who has accepted the position of molding manager. A veteran of the plastics industry, Johnson brings 38 years of experience to the Inman molding operation. An alum of Columbus State University, Columbus, Ohio, Johnson began his plastics career immediately after college working as molding supervisor for the SMC Division of General Tire & Rubber Co., Marion, Ind. From there, he spent 23 years working his way up the production and engineering ranks at Columbus Plastics (later Core Materials Corporation), Columbus, Ohio, eventually serving as production manager and, later, operations manager. Most recently, Johnson was plant manager for Accuma Corporation, Statesville, N.C., where he was responsible for engineering, quality and all production operations for a four-shift plant. Johnson is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys big-game hunting, whitewater rafting, motorcycle riding and golf. He resides in Gaffney, S.C., with his wife, Deborah. Together, they have two daughters and six grandchildren.
Ken Robinson has joined the Inman plant as environmental, health & safety manager. Bringing over 20 years of EHS experience to Mack, Robinson has headed up environmental, health & safety programs for Stevens Aviation, Inc., Greenville, S.C.; Grede Foundries, Inc., Greenwood, S.C.; and Wabtec Passenger Transit, Duncan, S.C. He has earned an associate of engineering technology degree in environmental, health & safety from Greenville Technical College and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of South Carolina, Spartanburg. Additionally, Robinson holds a Class ‘A’ Physical Chemical Wastewater Certificate from the state, and is a Six Sigma Green Belt. A resident of Greenville, he has three adult daughters. Two live close to home, while the third, a Marine, is now stationed in Mozambique, Africa. Robinson enjoys traveling, kayaking, golf, camping and hiking.
Scott Rishell has joined the MackMedical business unit, Arlington, Vt., as program manager responsible for several major medical device accounts. Not a stranger to Mack, Rishell worked at headquarters in 2004 during his manufacturing engineer co-op assignment while a student at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. He graduated a few years later with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and a concentration in energy & environment. Since then, Rishell has worked for Plug Power, Latham, N.Y., where he designed and tested high temperature fuel cell stack components. He was involved in all facets of product design and life cycle, including managing supplier relationships, specifying quality assurance measurement techniques, and debugging electrical and mechanical systems. Rishell resides in Salem, N.Y., with his wife, Erin; daughter, Charlotte, two; and newborn, Henry. When not busy with work and family, he enjoys home improvement activities, hunting, fishing, snowboarding and biking.
John McFadden, also a mechanical engineer, has joined the headquarters procurement operation as a supplier engineer. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Burlington, he holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering with a minor in pure mathematics, and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Before joining Mack, McFadden designed new equipment for Pad Print Machinery of Vermont. A varsity athlete during college, he enjoys all things sports, especially indoor soccer, golf, volleyball and football. In fact, he will play for the Southern Vermont STORM, a semi-professional team in the New England Football League, this fall. McFadden resides in Bennington, Vt., where he also volunteers as a referee/umpire for youth sports.
Anthony Mone, a native of Arlington, Vt., has returned home to accept the position of quality engineer at the headquarters plant. Most recently, he worked for five years for an aerospace industry supplier — Kamatics Corporation, Bloomfield, Ct. — in quality assurance, manufacturing operations, and quality control. A graduate of Western New England College, Springfield, Mass., Mone holds a bachelor’s in industrial engineering. He is also certified as an AS9100 lead auditor and a Six Sigma Green Belt, and has completed the quality engineer certification with the American Society for Quality (ASQ), Milwaukee, Wis. Currently, Mone is pursuing a master’s in engineering management. He makes his home in Arlington with wife, Jill, and their two young children, Brennen and Juliana. When time allows, he enjoys soccer, basketball, golf and baseball.
The husband/wife team of Cassie and Brian Earley has also joined the headquarters staff, working in medical program management and engineering technology respectively. They have returned to the East Coast from Kailua, H.I., where Brian was completing an eight-year stint in the Navy. While in Hawaii, Cassie worked for both the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard as a general engineer, and for Covance CRO (Honolulu), a drug development services company, as a clinical study coordinator. A New York native, she holds an associate’s in engineering science from Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, N.Y., and a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering with a biomaterials concentration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, also in Troy. Brian grew up in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. While in the Navy, he worked as a nuclear technician, specializing in nuclear chemistry and radiological controls. Most recently, he served on the USS Cheyenne, a fast attack submarine in Pearl Harbor. Before that, he was stationed in Ballston Spa, N.Y., where he taught the basics of reactor plant operations at the Kesselring Site. Both outdoor enthusiasts, Cassie and Brian enjoy hiking, swimming, kayaking and skiing. They plan to make their home in Greenwich, N.Y.
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