AUGUST 1996
Volume 2 • Number 2
THOMAS-GREAVES
NAMED NEW PTDC DIRECTOR
David
Thomas-Greaves has joined the PTDC as director effective August
1. Thomas-Greaves has been with CAMP, Inc. (formerly the Cleveland
Advanced Manufacturing Program) since 1989 and was a key player
in the proposal development, start up, and early operation of
the PTDC. He brings to the PTDC 18 years of experience and a strong
background in business development, program management and plastics
application engineering.
"I
am pleased to be associated with the PTDC, our outstanding partners
at Penn State Erie, and the talented staff of the PTDC on a full-time
basis," he says of his new position. "I look forward to strengthening
relationships with our PTDC customers and stakeholders and sharing
my experience in order to ensure excellence in customer service,
program growth, and longevity."
In
1993, Thomas-Greaves' efforts resulted in receipt of the $2.8
million federal Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP) award which
created the PTDC, a partnership between CAMP's Great Lakes Manufacturing
Technology Center and Penn State Erie. In 1994, he led negotiations
for a three-year, $750,000 federal grant that created a manufacturing-oriented
Small Business Development Center in Cleveland.
In 1995, Thomas-Greaves was instrumental in expanding CAMP's regional
market in eastern and central Ohio through the creation of a Regional
Manufacturing Outreach Center (RMOC). The RMOC program, in partnership
with Stark State Technical College, Youngstown State University,
Kent State University-Tuscararawas and with partial support of
the NIST MEP and the State of Ohio, provides manufacturing assistance
to industry in a 22-county region south of the metropolitan Cleveland/Akron
area.
Prior to joining CAMP in 1989, Thomas-Greaves held several key
business development and application engineering positions at
two progressive plastics corporations. He was charged with leading
sales efforts for thermoplastic injection molding applications
as a senior sales engineering with Lord Corp.'s Engineered Plastics
Division in Cleveland and as national accounts manager for Arundale,
Inc. (now Encore Engineered Products) in St. Louis. He also held
a variety of manufacturing positions with both metalworking and
plastic injection molding manufacturing firms as a manufacturing
engineer, purchasing agent, and production supervisor with Nupro
Co., a Willoughby, Ohio, precision valve manufacturer, and later
as plant manager for a Fairport Harbor, Ohio-based injection molder.
Thomas-Greaves
holds a bachelor of science degree in applied science in the areas
of engineering technology, manufacturing engineering and business
administration from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He is a member
of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Society of Plastics
Engineers.
He
and his wife, Sandy, reside in Euclid, Ohio, with their 5-year-old
son and 10-month-old daughter. In his spare time, Thomas-Greaves
is actively involved in his local parish and enjoys woodworking
and rose gardening.
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SERVICE
CAPACITY INCREASES WITH NEW HIRES
The
hiring of four new engineers will increase the PTDC's capacity
for undertaking new projects and accepting new clients.
"Since
the PTDC began operations in March of 1994, we continue to have
a backlog of work. I expected the pipeline to empty, but it hasn't,"
explained PTDC Director David Thomas-Greaves. "Also, it isn't
possible to establish a regional plastics center in all the market
regions we serve or expect to serve. The PTDC has hired enough
new engineers to double capacity in recognition of the needs of
our clients."
In
a break from tradition, one new engineer has a computer and electrical
background rather than a traditional plastics education. Jeffrey
A. Readel will offer PTDC clients assistance with electric
and electronic components and computer applications, and design
internal information systems for the PTDC.
Readel's
responsibilities also include maintenance of the Center's new
World Wide Web home page.
By
adding greater computer capabilities, the PTDC plans to increase
its ability to offer long-distance technical transfer services
and learning opportunities. Readel earned a B.S. in electrical
engineering from Penn State Erie in May. As part of a senior design
project he designed and built testing equipment that determines
the dielectric voltage breakdown of various size capacitators.
Theresa
M. Warner is a former plastics application engineer/consultant
at Higley & Co. Inc. in Erie and former project assistant at Port
Erie Plastics, Inc., Harborcreek, Pa. Before completing her bachelor's
degree in plastics engineering technology at Penn State Erie in
May 1995, she interned with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Warner's background with Higley included substantial experience
training clients to use Pro/Engineer. The PTDC will begin offering
Pro/Engineer training in the near future.
Tye
S. Sonney and Matthew A. Russell are both May graduates
of Penn State Erie's plastics engineering technology program.
Sonney formerly worked in set-up and trouble shooting at Erie
Plastics, Inc. He also completed an engineering internship with
the Corry, Pa.-based company.
Russell
served two college internships; one in plastics at Polestar Plastics,
Inc., State College, Pa., and one in engineering with the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation.
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WEB
PAGE AVERAGING 10 NEW HITS A DAY
A
Utah plastics company is searching for companies that can test
its products against current industry standards. A California
corespondent wants any and all information available about laminate
bonding and diffusion bonding. A Maryland design engineer needs
details about thermoplastics suitable for use in a PCB manufacturing
environment, adding he's unsure of the PCB M-ENV and not completely
certain of what it is he's looking for. "I'm interested in not
shooting myself in the foot," he writes. "I'm looking for a non-biased,
test-verified source of information."
These
and other questions, queries, and calls for help have arrived
at the PTDC via the Center's World Wide Web page. Since it opened
for business in the spring, the page has received an average 10
unique hits and multiple repeat hits a day (a new counting system
allows PTDC computers to distinguish between first-time and repeat
users).
Thus
far the page's most popular feature is its electronic request
for information form. Larry Partch, PTDC technical director, and
Center engineers provide free advice and suggestions for further
research in their replies, which are usually turned around within
five days.
Also
posted on the page is a virtual tour of the PTDC facilities, photos
and biographies of Center staff members, seminar and training
schedules, Success Stories, and back issues of the PTDC News.
Links from the page connect users to over 100 plastics companies
and consultants.
The
PTDC Web page can be found through all major search engines and
Web browsers; it's posted on hundreds of Web servers here and
abroad. For direct access, use the address http://ptdc01.bd.psu.edu.
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BUILDING
DEDICATION SEPTEMBER 20
The
names are familiar: Richard J. Fasenmyer, James O. Benson, Joseph
J. Prischak, the William Witkowski family, and the late Paul and
Margaret Roche. These generous benefactors will be honored Friday,
September 20, at the dedication of the buildings that bear their
names.
In
addition to housing the PTDC, these five Penn State Erie buildings
are state-of-the-art showplaces for plastics processing and engineering
education; the R.J. Fasenmyer building is country's largest academic
plastics processing laboratory.
For
reservations and specific event times, phone Mary Anne Geary,
PTDC staff assistant, at (814) 898-6345.
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MEMO
TO MANUFACTURERS: VISIT US VIA COMPUTER MODEM, FREE SOFTWARE
The
sky's bright, the water's blue, the sand's warm -- it's a great
time to visit Cleveland, Erie and the PTDC. But if you can' t
make the trip, we understand. We'll come to you instead.
The
PTDC now has the capability to communicate directly with established
clients, new clients, and prospective clients alike via the Internet
or a modem. We can hook up with you whether your operation runs
on personal computers or Silicon Graphics interfaces.
TALKShow,
a new communications software package available to PC users, allows
us to communicate in real time using Windows 3.x, NT, or '95.
We're able to share graphics and document files; we can even post
a file on a whiteboard for simultaneous remote editing from multiple
workstations. Our project associates and clients can "discuss"
and mark up files and drawings in real time, just as if one or
the other had made the road trip.
TALKShow
is a relatively inexpensive program, but if you're not quite ready
to make a commitment to it, the PTDC can provide a copy of the
software and a site licenses at no cost.
We communicate with Silicon Graphics IRIX platform users via the
program InPerson. This software offers not only a highly advanced
whiteboard for sharing documents, but also desktop videoconferencing
and voice transfer. InPerson was chosen for use because the software,
a camera, and a microphone comes prepackaged in most SGI machines.
Either
way, we'd like to make a connection. For more information about
direct communication via computer or a demonstration of its capabilities,
call Larry Partch, PTDC technical director, at (814) 898-6122.
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David Thomas-Greaves, PTDC Director
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