The Right Place | The Center-West Manufacturers Council
Increasing Competitiveness Through Collaboration
Convened in 1989, The Right Place | The Center-West Manufacturers Council is dedicated to the business success of the region’s manufacturing industry. The council’s vision is to be the regional forum for advancing manufacturing success in West Michigan. Members work together in a collaborative environment to promote, facilitate, enable, and advocate for advancing a “best-in-class” manufacturing sector.
Manufacturers Council Executive Team
- Chair - Patrick Greene, President, Cascade Die Casting Group, Inc.
- Vice Chair - Chris Bardeggia, Vice President of Global Quality & Lean, Steelcase
- Past Chair - David Beemer, Chief Operating Officer, Terryberry
- Facilitator - Justine Burdette, Vice President of Technical Services, The Right Place, Inc. | Regional Director, The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West
- Workforce Development Chair - Steve Heethuis, Training Director, NN Inc.| Mobile Solutions Group
- Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, Board Representative - Michael Davenport, President & CEO, Jireh Metal Products
- Membership Chair - Todd Maines, TACK Electronics
- Continuous Improvement Champion - James Kolodziej, Operations Manager, Flexco
- Member at Large - Peter Hungerford, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, ADAC Automotive
- The Right Place, Inc. - Brad Comment, Senior Vice President Investor Relations, The Right Place
- Retired Member - John Fynewever
- Administrator - René Booker, Executive Assistant, The Center-West
Manufacturers Council Member Directory
If you would like to contact any members of the Manufacturer's Council, please contact Rene Booker at bookerr@rightplace.org or 616.301.6247.
* = Executive Team Members
ADAC Automotive, Peter Hungerford, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer *
Alro Steel, Randy Maitland, Vice President and General Manager
Amway Corporation, Bradley Rick, Director of Manufacturing Operations
Aquinas, Katharina Hausler-Gross, Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement
BISSELL, Kara Smith, Senior Director - North American Operations & Consumables
Bradford White, Peter Kattula,Vice President of Operations
Cascade Die Casting Group, Inc., Patrick Greene, President, Chair*
Cascade Engineering, Christina Keller, President - Cascade Business Team
Conveyability, Inc. Heath Verstraete, President
D&M Metal Products, Bob Buist, President
DeWys Manufacturing, Jon DeWys, President
Ferris State University, Gary Wendlowsky, Senior Coordinator of Camps & Conferences
Flexco, Doug Saunders, Director of Operations *
Grand Rapids Community College, Bill Pink, Ph.D., President
Grand Valley State University, Paul Plotkowski, Ph.D., Dean, Padnos College of Engineering and Computing
Herman Miller, Beau Seaver, Vice President of Global Advanced Manufacturing
Irwin Seating Company, Graham Irwin, President and CEO
Jireh Metal, Michael Davenport, President and CEO *
Lacks Trim Systems, Curt Webb, Director of Supply Chain
Leggett & Platt – Work Furniture Group, Bob Ballard, Senior Vice President of Global Operations
Master Finish Company, John Mulder, COO
Medbio, Inc., Christopher Williams, President and CEO,
Michigan State University, Kevin McCurren, Commercialization Program Director - Gateway Grand Rapids
NK Manufacturing Technologies LLC, Jake Kassouni, Sales Engineer
NN, Inc. | Mobile Solutions Group, John Buchan, Executive Vice President - Mobile Solutions & Power Solutions
NN, Inc. | Mobile Solutions Group, Steve Heethuis, Training Director *
Nucraft Furniture, Scott Petzhold, Vice President of Human Resources
Ranir - A Perrigo Company, Ann Mason, Senior Director of Oral Care Operations and Supply Planning
Retired Member - John Fynewever *
RoMan Manufacturing Inc., Robert Roth, President and CEO
Steelcase, Chris Bardeggia, Vice President, Global Quality and Lean - Vice Chair *
TACK Electronics, Todd Maines, President *
Terryberry, David Beemer, COO *
The Right Place, Inc., Brad Comment, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations *
The Right Place, Inc. | The Center-West, Justine Burdette, Vice President, Technical Services, The Right Place, The Center-West Regional Director *
The Right Place, Inc. | The Center-West, René Booker, Executive Assistant *
Unist, Chuck Boelkins, President
Western Michigan University, David Meade, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Wolverine Coil Spring Co., Jay Dunwell, President