In December 2023, IMEC Board of Directors welcomed Pedro DeJesus, Head of International Business and Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Tampico Beverages, Inc. Pedro not only provides the Board with insight into Illinois’ beverage manufacturing industry, but his story once again shows that Illinois manufacturing is filled with all types of industry backgrounds.

Meet Jim Nelson, President and CEO of Parr Instrument Company and one of IMEC’s newest Board members. In a recent virtual interview, Nelson shared insights into his career before and after joining Parr, which has been manufacturing chemical reactors, pressure vessels, calorimeters, combustion vessels, and related equipment for lab use since 1899.

Meet Caitlin Simhauser, the President and Managing Owner of Ronk Electrical Industries and one of IMEC’s newest Board members. In a recent virtual interview, Simhauser shared insights about herself and her company, which has been manufacturing electrical products and equipment since 1950.

IMEC is committed to helping companies provide structured training to their employees through registered apprenticeship programs. As of last month, IMEC has been approved to sponsor 13 registered apprenticeship programs validated by the U.S. Department of Labor.  

The Role of Apprenticeships in Manufacturing 
Apprenticeships are an important part of many companies’ training landscapes. Improving recruitment, developing a highly skilled workforce that leads to improved productivity, reducing turnover costs, and improving employee retention are all benefits of a strong training program that includes apprenticeships. 

IMEC’s Board of Directors is comprised of professionals across various industries, including food manufacturing, medical device manufacturing, advertising, law, academia, and now aerospace.

As one of the newest members to the board, Dr. David Carroll, Co-Founder and President of CU Aerospace in Champaign, IL, sat down with IMEC to discuss how CU Aerospace was formed and why it is a gamechanger in the aerospace industry.

As the host university for IMEC, Bradley University has a unique relationship with us and with the Illinois manufacturing community. In order to take a deeper dive into how Bradley and manufacturing go hand-in-hand, we sat down virtually with one of our newest board members, Erin Kastberg, who also happens to the be Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at Bradley University.

One of IMEC’s newest board members Marcia Ayala sat down with us (virtually) to tell us a little bit more about herself. Ayala is the President of Aurora Specialty Textiles Group, Inc., a textile processing operation right here in Illinois that has been around since the 1880s.

Jeffrey Taylor is the President and CEO of Crafts Technology in Elk Grove Village, a manufacturing firm with decades of experience producing products that demand super hard materials. As one of our newest Board members, Taylor spoke with us virtually and gave insight into his manufacturing background and why he’s excited to be on the IMEC board.

Ashley S. Moy is the CEO and co-founder of Cast21, a corporation that produces innovative orthopedic solutions. As one of IMEC’s newest board members, Moy sat down (virtually) to tell us a little more about herself.