The following eight executives form the top management team at FormTech Industries LLC, Royal Oak, MI. The company was formed earlier this year and acquired the forging operations of Metaldyne Corp., Plymouth, MI, in March.
Richard P. McDermott, Ph.D., president and CEO, previously had been president and 50% owner of MSP Industries Corp., an Oxford, Michigan-based manufacturer of precision forged components with three locations in southeastern Michigan. During his tenure at MSP, he developed the Closed Die Flashless Warm Forming Process, and proved it to be a commercial success. Under his leadership, MSP grew from $3 million to $55 million in revenue. MSP was sold to American Axle & Manufacturing in 1999, and McDermott served as a consultant to American Axle for three years after the sale.
In March 2000, McDermott purchased a 50% stake in Birmingham, England-based Stokes Forgings, whose revenue under his leadership grew from ≤14 million to ≤25 million. He sold his ownership interest in June 2004 to pursue metal-forming opportunities in the U.S.
McDermott earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Leeds University (U.K.), and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Salford University (U.K.).
R. Lance Harris, executive vice president and chief operating officer, joined FormTech from Engineered Components Group of GKN, Plc, where he was vice president and general manager of the. Prior to joining GKN, Mr. Harris worked for MascoTech, Inc., where he gained firsthand knowledge of the forging operation, which was then known as Metaldyne North American Forging. Harris started his metal forming career as an engineer with General Motors Corporation.
Harris holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg Business School, along with a Master of Engineering Management degree from McCormick School of Engineering, both from Northwestern University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the General Motors Institute.
Richard J. Larkin, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was recruited by McDermott in 1992 to be MSP’s chief financial officer, and he continued working with McDermott after MSP was sold. In early 1998, Larkin initiated shareholder discussions regarding the sale of MSP and, later that year, began discussions with the eventual purchaser, American Axle & Manufacturing.
He began his career as a junior auditor with Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte, LLP) in Detroit. His industry focus was manufacturing, and his specialty was mergers and acquisitions.
Larkin holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from The University of Detroit, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan. He is a certified public accountant licensed in Michigan.
Chris Jones, vice president technology, comes to FormTech with over 18 years in the North American metal forming industry, including four years at MSP Industries, eleven years at MascoTech Forming Technologies (Royal Oak and Fraser facilities), and three years at American Axle and Manufacturing.
In the late 1990s, Jones was instrumental in the conversion of the MascoTech Forming Technologies Fraser facility from manual operation infrastructure to a fully-automated cold forming facility. During this transition, Jones was responsible for the successful application of over $40 million in capital required for the conversion.
Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Leeds (U.K.) and a Master of Science degree in management from Walsh College (MI).
Peter Byrne, vice president sales and marketing, comes to FormTech with 25 years in automotive original-equipment manufacturer sales and marketing experience. He began his career with Kelsey Hayes, and later joined Continental, both major tier-one suppliers to the global automotive industry. He has held a wide range of sales and marketing positions, including market analyst, product planner, sales representative, account manager, sales manager, director of sales and marketing, and vice president of sales and marketing. His experience has involved all global automotive markets and every OEM.
Byrne holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston College, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit, and has completed an international management program at Duke University.
Utpaul Gangopadhyay, Ph.D., vice president quality and materials, joins FormTech from GKN Sinter Metals, where he has worked in various capacities, from operations manager for several plants, as director of technology, and, in recent years, as director of sales and product engineering. Subsequent to completing his PhD, he joined powdered metal products manufacturer Michigan Sintered Metals as director of technology. He came to GKN Sinter Metals through acquisition in 1999.
Gangopadhyay started his career as a process engineer at Gabriel India Limited, a licensee of Federal Mogul, which manufactured main and connecting rod bearings for automotive engines. He then served as an R & D metallurgist at Bimetal Bearings Ltd, also involved in bearing journal manufacture.
Gangopadhyay earned his doctorate in materials science and engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh in 1994. Prior to that, he completed his Master of Engineering degree in metallurgical engineering and materials science from Carnegie Mellon. He did his undergraduate and master’s degrees in metallurgical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India.
Peter D. Lynch, vice president supply chain, brings to FormTech fifteen years of experience in international supply chain management, primarily within the automotive industry. He has been responsible for managing supply chain activities at Ford Motor Co., Visteon Corp., Benrus Watch Co., and Beltone Electronics. He has most recently worked as a senior associate at Conway MacKenzie & Dunleavy, a turnaround consulting firm.
Lynch holds a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in materials and logistics management from Michigan State University.
Jon Anderson, vice president and chief financial officer, has functioned as vp-CFO in the automotive industry at privately held companies including BBI Enterprises Group, HP Pelzer Automotive Systems, Inc., and GR Investment Group, Ltd. In 1990 he joined Guardian Industries ($1.0 billion in revenue) as manager of accounting and financial reporting until he joined MSP Industries as corporate controller in 1994. While at MSP Anderson was promoted to vp-CFO and worked there until its sale to American Axle. Anderson started his career with Touche Ross & Co. and served as director of accounting and reporting for Fruehauf Corp.
Anderson has a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He is a certified public accountant licensed in Michigan.
Earl V. Talos, vice president of human resources, began his career as manufacturing supervisor at Ford and later moved into industrial relations were he had a variety of assignments. After Ford he held positions of increasing responsibility in Fortune 500 industries, including ARAMCO, General Dynamics and GKN. Additionally, Talos is a former adjunct professor at Oakland University, and a consultant.
Talos holds a master’s degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University, and Bachelor of Science in business administration from Wayne State University.