A four decade long commitment to making the world's best plasma cutting systems has resulted in the accumulation of a lot of expertise. Hypertherm's expert roster covers all things plasma. Whether you're writing a story on handheld plasma, mechanized plasma, or plasma CNCs, we have an expert that can help to answer your questions. And our expertise doesn't stop there. Hypertherm experts lead the way in many different areas including Corporate Social Responsibility, Lean Six Sigma Principles, and Workplace Safety. If you are a member of the media interested in setting up an interview with any of our experts, please email pr@hypertherm.com or call Michelle Avila, Hypertherm's public relations manager, at 603-643-3441.
| Aaron Brandt
As the engineering manager for Hypertherm's mechanized team, Aaron knows about the latest innovations when it comes to table based plasma cutting systems. In fact, Aaron is the inventor behind five Hypertherm patents. Aaron's been involved with thermal cutting technology for 11 years-two in laser and nine in plasma. Aaron holds a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University where he did his thesis on cutting with laser. Barbara Couch Barbara is passionate about corporate social responsibility and giving back to the community. She believes it is every company’s duty to positively impact society. In her role as vice president of human resources at Hypertherm, Barbara leads Hypertherm’s nationally recognized HOPE (Hypertherm Owners’ Philanthropic Endeavors) program. Barbara and the entire HOPE team work to donate a portion of Hypertherm’s earnings to local nonprofit organizations. They also manage the Community Service Time program, a program in which each Hypertherm associate receives 16 hours of paid time off each year so they can volunteer in the community. Charlie Hackett, PhD and George Konstantakos: Lean and Six Sigma Master Black Belts Hypertherm is proud to practice both Lean and Six Sigma principles and has several Black Belts within its ranks, including Master Black Belts. Dr. Charlie Hackett and George Konstantakos. Lean and Six Sigma are continuous improvement practices that focus on eliminating waste, eradicating defects, and reducing variation in order to achieve operational excellence. Together they provide a data-driven, systematic approach to problem solving with a focus on delivering value to the customer. A Certified Master Black Belt is the ultimate Lean-Six Sigma expert, working to coach the entire organization and fellow Black Belts on the principles of continuous improvement. Dr. Hackett has a diverse background with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and more than 15 years of Operations and R&D experience in the metal cutting, spraying, and welding fields. His interests in Lean and Six Sigma range from reducing waste throughout the business, to creating cultural change in teams, to application of statistics in everyday problem-solving. George brings more than 15 years of manufacturing experience to Hypertherm and is an expert when it comes to the Toyota Production System and its application in both industrial and healthcare settings. Ken Woods, PhD Dr. Ken Woods is Hypertherm’s preeminent laser expert. He is a named inventor on six Hypertherm patents, including the FAST Laser (Flow Accelerated Screen Technology™). FAST Laser is a process technology breakthrough that significantly improves the speed and capacity of laser plate cutting. He holds a PhD in Physics from Dartmouth College where he conducted graduate research in laser physics. Dr. Woods is a current member of the Laser Institute of America (LIA), American Physics Society (APS), and SPIE. He has presented papers at ICALEO and Fabtech on laser cutting, as well as authored several trade journal articles. Eric Smith Eric Smith spends his days focused on CNC motion and torch height controls. His meetings with customers and channel partners from around the world give him a unique global perspective on motion controls. From India and China to Europe and the Americas, customers know to ask for Eric by name. Channel partners appreciate his deep integration knowledge while end users like his ability to come up with solutions to their cutting challenges. In addition to sharing his vast technical knowledge of motion controls, Eric also coordinates various worldwide training programs for Hypertherm’s Automation team. |
Jim Colt
Three decades of plasma cutting knowledge and experience means Jim Colt is the go to guy for tough plasma cutting questions. He is the author of several technical articles on plasma cutting technology and is a frequent speaker at key industry conferences and symposiums including those sponsored by the American Welding Society, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, and The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Jim is also a frequent contributor to key industry discussion forums. Jason Emery Jason puts his degree in electrical engineering technologies from Vermont Tech to work just about everyday. As a Hypertherm technical service engineer with nearly 15 years of experience, Jason is well versed with the ins and outs of plasma cutters and table based plasma cutting systems. From installation and integration to operations and optimization, Jason’s got you covered. Jon Lindsay, PhD Dr. Lindsay is the inventor behind co-axial assist jet technology, a patented shield gas technology that delivers enhanced piercing protection and higher cutting speeds. He has 11 years of experience designing manual and mechanized plasma cutting systems. He earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota, while studying thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition. Mike Shipulski, PhD As director of engineering for Hypertherm, Dr. Shipulski leads the design and engineering functions for all of Hypertherm’s plasma cutting products, in addition to the company’s intellectual property and advanced development teams. His expertise in Design for Lean (principles that focus) on reducing waste, resulted in his being recently honored as a Distinguished Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) Supporter. In addition, he has written numerous articles and white papers on lean design. Tex Whiting Tex is a Consumable Sales Manager at Hypertherm who has worked with a variety of metal cutting industries throughout the world. He routinely performs onsite system audits and system optimization of plasma and laser cutting equipment. Tex is the author of several technical articles on plasma cutting technology which have been published in both The Fabricator and Practical Welding. He also conducts Webinars for both end-users and channel partners and frequently performs onsite plasma and laser training. Roger Young Roger Young brings two decades of CNC work to Hypertherm's expert roster. He began as a CNC technician at Creonics in 1988 before becoming a software development engineer for Allen-Bradley. He then went on to found Automation Dynamics, now known as Hypertherm Automation. As a CNC engineer, Roger writes the code behind many of our CNC products. He began writing graphical user interfaces in 1995 and has been at it ever since. His most recent accomplishment is the writing of new software code that enables anyone to learn how to run a Hypertherm CNC in about five minutes. |
