30 Under 30 Class of 2021: Midwestern Moldmaking Talent

Midwest: Illinois

Pyramid Molding Group, Industrial Molds Division (Rockford, Illinois)

Sasha Stojanovic, Mold Designer

Sasha learned how to overcome adversity at a young age, which molded him into a hardworking, dedicated young professional. He immigrated from Serbia to the U.S. in 2005 at the age of eight. English was not his native language, but he adapted by immersing himself in his education. As a senior in high school, Sasha’s mother passed away, and his father’s profession as a truck driver kept him away from home. Sasha balanced his grief while staying focused on his goals and learning how to deal with change and pressure.

Sasha remains driven. He completed his mechanical engineering degree from Northern Illinois University in 2019 and then joined the Industrial Molds engineering team. His strong work ethic, desire to succeed and professional demeanor became the benchmark for the type of young professionals Industrial Molds wants on the team. Sasha is the right mix of talent, hard work and dedication. He does whatever it takes to get the job done, and no task is beneath him.

Sasha is often the first to arrive and the last to leave. You will frequently find him on the shop floor working alongside our machinists and tool builders. Sasha is motivated to develop as much industry knowledge as possible. He inquires with insightful questions and is not afraid to ask when he needs more information.

Sasha has a sense of fearlessness for a young man. He is not afraid to offer his suggestions even with our most veteran employees. He has proven to “hold his own” concerning the types of projects he has completed during his tenure. One example of Sasha’s leadership and innovation was his gear strength calculator, which included the processes to calculate more efficiently.

Sasha quickly understands challenging concepts and applies what he has learned to every task. He has a clear focus on deliverables and demonstrates reliability with his attention to deadlines. Sasha’s goal is to become a master at moldmaking and design.

Matrix Plastic Products Inc. (Wood Dale, Illinois)

John Ziegenhorn, Moldmaker

John is a third-generation moldmaker. His grandfather and uncles started the business in 1978, and his father is the chief financial officer (CFO). While John follows in their footsteps, his career path affords him a unique perspective.

When he was 16, John started cleaning machines, performing shop maintenance and learning the basics of workpiece setups. An Eagle Scout, John is naturally a self-starter and hard worker who enthusiastically attacks any project. During his college years, he worked in the molding department and was involved with everything from material handling and inventory, to mold setups and automation.

As a chemistry major, John was very interested to learn about the injection molding process and the behaviors of different materials from the process engineers. After graduating with his Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University, he took on additional responsibilities, making himself more valuable on the production floor.

John completed systematic molding and processing courses with RJG (Traverse City, Michigan) and Sodick (San Jose, California) as he stepped into a supervisory role. He quickly became instrumental in setting up production runs and creating operator work instructions to implement a new enterprise resouce planning (ERP) system.

John also learned how to troubleshoot molds from the tooling engineers and mold designers. Watching them diagnose tooling issues inspired him to be part of those solutions too. He then chose to complete a formal moldmaking apprenticeship and graduated from TMA’s three-year program.

John is a leader by example. He trains our tooling apprentices and interns on preventative maintenance (PM), repairs and safety. He takes great pride in actively promoting the trade with high school students, participating in local career fairs and association events and helping host field trips to our facility.

He is our laser welding expert. John also researches and purchases new equipment, never says “no” to a challenge and never misses the opportunity to keep learning from his mentors.

Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales (Wauconda, Illinois)

Courtney Ollendick, Laser/Tig Welder

Courtney is a talented, dedicated and valuable member of the Alliance team. She came on board as a TIG welder specializing in the delicate process of aluminum welding. Since then, she has continued to learn and grow and is now a laser welding professional. She has even saved the day on some occasions. Courtney’s ability to tackle every task with a smile makes her an incredible asset.

Courtney is always grateful for the opportunities provided to her. Whether learning a new technique or being assigned a new challenge, she embraces each one and excels positively. She is a true team member and has built strong relationships with other members of the company. 

Courtney asks questions and helps others to learn, displaying integrity in all that she does. She is eager to share her knowledge and is tenacious in her work ethic, always pushing to grow her skill set and find new ways to benefit the company.

The company feels extremely fortunate and blessed to have Courtney as a member of the team.

Tri-Par Die and Mold Corp. (South Elgin, Illinois)

Adem Talic, Apprentice Moldmaker

Adem found his passion in the world of manufacturing when he started producing zinc components on an A2 press machine. Although he liked this work, he quickly realized the importance of expanding his knowledge and skills if he wanted to excel and grow in machining. Because of this, he joined the Technology and Manufacturing Association (TMA, Schaumburg, Illinois) training program at his own expense. This training introduced Adem to the world of plastics and moldmaking.

He joined a mold shop apprenticeship program and quickly discovered that he wanted to learn more. After staying on for a year, he was given the opportunity to join Tri-Par Die and Mold’s program. Adem joined Tri-Par Die and Mold two years ago.

He has been an enthusiastic member of the moldmaking team with a can-do attitude. He has an eye for detail and continues to build up his skills. He enjoys the hands-on work of creating with a special interest in milling and grinding. Adem is also in the Army Reserves after joining in July 2019. He is well on his way to becoming a lead moldmaker.

Midwest: Michigan

Action Mold & Machining (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Zachary Glascock, Additive Specialist/CMM Technician

Zach is a graduate from Western Michigan University with a degree in manufacturing engineering & technologies. During his senior design project, he began working with Action Mold, focused on variable density parameters and applications in molds. After graduating, he joined Action Mold and has been a key contributor to the additive manufacturing (AM) team, helping to continue developing and educating customers on what AM is and what it offers to the industry.

He has been a very quick learner of the ever-changing AM industry and brings great enthusiasm to our team. He is well versed in laser powder-bed fusion technology and sees the whole manufacturing process after printing, and so understands how to plan for that from the beginning.

Zach also helps to run the CMM to measure traditionally manufactured tools but also AM tools. He is versed in both contact probe measurements as well as blue light scanning measurements. He has recently started using the shop’s new microscope to gain deeper insight into a printed part’s density, microstructure and surfaces and the impact of changing printing parameters.

Zach very clearly sees where AM fits into the manufacturing environment overall, and how it fits specifically in the tooling industry. This makes him an invaluable resource to Action Mold and the industry as AM gains greater adoption.

Harbour Results (Southfield, Michigan)

Cara Walton, Engagement Manager

Cara has been a critical member of the Harbour Results team by helping to build a culture of inclusion, curiosity and customer service. She collaborates across the team to ensure we can help our clients and all those in the industry.

She is responsible for growing HRI’s Harbour I.Q. product, which was developed to provide moldmakers with data and insight to make intelligent business decisions. She is the main liaison with the Harbour I.Q. clients, ensuring they get access to the information they need.

Cara also built the organization’s economy/tariff/trade competency to ensure we know how these factors impact manufacturing today and tomorrow. She played an important role in the company’s effort to put tariffs back on China-made molds. We worked together gathering data and interviewing shops to help draft messages and case studies to share with key decision-makers within associations and local and national government.

Cara has positioned herself as a thought leader in the industry through one-on-one interactions, presentations, events and bylined articles.

Erwin Quarder (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Nick Dupree, Toolmaker Apprentice

Nick started at Erwin Quarder four years ago as a production floor helper and then worked his way to the toolroom. He has experience with EDM, CNC machining, milling, grinding and laser welding. Nick has a special drive and can-do attitude while working in the toolroom.

He enjoys working with his co-workers, sharing his input and expressing his ideas to resolve issues. Nick also thinks outside the box when working through challenges for which traditional repair methods are not applicable.

He is not afraid to step up, go the extra mile, work late or come in early to ensure a repair or project is completed on time. Nick is an excellent role model for the next up-and-coming apprentices who will follow in his footsteps.

Westfall Technik (Wakefield, Michigan)

Anthony Fabbri, Moldmaker Apprentice

Anthony came to Westfall Technik (formerly Extreme Tool) as a young man with no machining or toolmaking experience but with the right amount of ambition and work ethic. His character and integrity set him apart. He is an all-around good person. Day in and day out, Anthony is a great example to those who work around him.

Very early on, it was evident that Anthony was a natural in the shop. He is a quick learner and never afraid to go the extra mile to make a project successful. Anthony is on track to complete his apprenticeship (8,000 hours of shop time with online schooling) this July, resulting in his journeyman card in moldmaking, die-cast and plastic molding from the United States Department of Labor (Washington, D.C.) as well as AMBA. Upon completion, Anthony will be well versed in all processes from mold design to mold sampling. As the time comes for Anthony to move onto the next department, leadership mentions that they want to keep him. Anthony has become a very important asset to the company.

Midwest: Wisconsin

KTM Industries Inc. (Richfield, Wisconsin)

Rebecca Kluever, Program Manager

Rebecca was an honoree in MMT’s inaugural 30 Under 30 Honors Program in 2018 when she was a 21-year-old design engineer at Mantz Automation (Hartford, Wisconsin). She is now part of the KTM Industries team as a program manager. Her role uses her prior tooling, programming, design and organizational experiences to effectively manage customers’ development and production projects. Rebecca is responsible for integrating internal and supply partner resources and communicating project deliverables between the KTM mold shop and customer engineering. She continues her educational pursuits and has begun formal CNC programming training.

The last year has seen Rebecca spend most of her time at a KTM customer facility, coordinating an extensive new product development project. This experience has broadened her manufacturing perspective, as she has been involved with nearly every phase of the project.

Rebecca is a prime example of the opportunities available for the current and next generations in U.S.-based manufacturing. Combining her attitude, ambition and willingness to learn with work environments that support her growth will ensure she enjoys a successful career path.

Johnathon Ohser, Toolmaker

Johnathon graduated from Moraine Park Technical College and completed his MoldMaker Apprenticeship. He has packed a great deal of experience in a short amount of time by working within various production environments, including machine assembly, inventory management, CNC programming and setup, scheduling, project management and toolmaking.

Jonathon makes it a point to engage with senior team members, receiving invaluable mentoring and practical advice. Executive leadership is pleased to see that he accepts responsibility and accountability while showing consistent progress and aptitude with each task he undertakes.

Customers appreciate Jonathon’s swift progress as a problem-solver for both build and repair projects. He is also concentrating on his design and engineering development and is a significant contributor to design reviews and build strategies.

Innovation Mold & Design (Germantown, Wisconsin)

Hannah Lautenschlaeger, Tool & Die Apprentice

Hannah is a student in a tool and die program at a local technical college and previously worked onsite at Innovation Mold & Design, mounting electrodes on a sinker EDM. She mentioned that her goal was to become a tool and die maker in the plastic injection mold building trade.

The team quickly noticed she was mechanically inclined, excelling with time management and eager to learn the trade. She then accepted the opportunity to enter the tool and die maker apprenticeship program in the wire EDM department at Innovation Mold & Design. Today, Hannah has transitioned into the full moldmaker apprenticeship program.

Hannah is a pleasure to work with and a true asset to the team. Her positive attitude, attention to detail and ambition for continuous improvement are perfect for the company’s environment, culture and colleagues. Hannah has a great future at Innovation Mold & Design, and the team feels blessed to have her as part of the company.

MGS MFG Group (Germantown, Wisconsin)

Jalen Weyker, Journeyman Toolmaker

Jalen came to MGS in 2014 while still in technical school. He worked after school in the graphite cutting cell, wire drilling cell and CNC milling department. He excelled in each position and was able to pass down his knowledge to his younger co-workers.

Jalen started his apprenticeship in 2016 under the lead toolmaker’s guidance. As an apprentice, he was extremely eager to learn and had a positive attitude. Within the first couple of years of his apprenticeship, his leadership role started to blossom, and he became one of our apprenticeship group leaders.

As his apprenticeship continued, Jalen gained the team’s respect with his work ethic and trade knowledge. He now builds his tools, including high-end multi-cavity tools, unscrewing tools and several two-shot tools.

Jalen became a journeyman toolmaker after finishing his apprenticeship in March 2020. Since then, he has continued to hone his skills as a toolmaker and leader. He is an asset to MGS, and he has a bright future ahead.

Jake Wade, Toolmaker

Jake has been a member of the MGS family since 2012. He was the first employee to participate in the “School to Work” program. Jake would come to work right from school every afternoon and work in the electrode and wire departments, where he maintained electrodes and cleaned wired components.

During the summer after he graduated from high school, Jake learned how to run the electrode-cutting cell and obtained some experience in the hard-cutting cell. During his first year in tech school, Jake worked at MGS at night, doing setups and running the electrode and hard-cutting cells. In his second year of tech school, he worked with toolmakers on the drill press and basic components on the Bridgeport machine. During that time, Jake took the initiative to find ways to improve his skills.

Jake began his tool & die apprenticeship under the lead toolmaker’s mentorship in 2016. During his apprenticeship, he and his mentor worked on several complex tools, and Jake always portrayed a positive attitude. He completed his apprenticeship earning the journeyman toolmaker title in 2019. Since then, he has led and built many complex tools, from rotating cube molds to two-shot indexing molds.

Today, Jake continues to find ways to better himself and his craft as a toolmaker. He is a team player driven to positively impact his colleagues and customers, and the overall industry. Jake is an important influence and role model for training new, young talent for the company. He is a big part of MGS, and he continues to grow and be a leader in the tooling industry.

M&M Tool and Mold (Green Bay, Wisconsin)

Kyle Paternoster, Toolmaker

Kyle joined the M&M Tool team in January 2013 as a journeyman apprentice, which he completed in March 2018. Since becoming a journeyman, Kyle has been more than willing to step up to any challenge that he is presented with, and is currently the team leader for one of our internal build teams.

As a team leader, he shoulders additional responsibilities, including shop input on all projects assigned to his team, scheduling work through support departments and negotiating with other team leaders to alleviate potential workflow bottlenecks. He also monitors all team projects regarding purchased components, services and shop hours invested in the build versus estimated hours.

Kyle has proven to be quite creative in his approach to moldmaking. He is not afraid to propose new manufacturing methods to become more efficient, which are sometimes incorporated into the company’s general build culture.

Other times, the ideas do not work. Either way, the team learns through Kyle’s initiative—his idea introduces a new technology or process or sometimes validates the original process. It’s often the failures that prove most valuable, as they can open the door to additional possibilities for process improvement. Once the creative approach has been validated to be a better method, Kyle is always available to share the lesson learned with others and explain why.

Midwest: Indiana

Valeo (Seymour, Indiana)

Mason Day, Plastic Toolmaker

Mason is a talented, motivated young man with a desire and willingness to become a very good moldmaker. He has completed a two-year associate program and a four-year apprenticeship with Valeo.

Mason is eager to learn and works well with senior-level moldmakers. He is continuing his education to earn his degree and become a tooling engineer. Working in the automotive lighting industry has taught Mason critical thinking and the value of working smart, fast and efficiently.

Mason works very well on a team and independently. He is working an off-shift, so he must be versatile and excel at time management to complete the tasks at hand.

Precise Tooling Solutions (Columbus, Indiana)

Trenton Ford, Wire EDM Operator

At only 21 years old, Trenton has the ambition and drive of moldmakers twice his age With an unexpected departure of his mentor earlier this year, Trenton has taken the reins of our EDM/wire process, met the harsh demand the trade requires and has made a tremendous impact on our business.

He always works as hard as possible with anything thrown at him, including this new role, with increased responsibility. Trenton has gone from mounting, machining and running one EDM to three EDMs, plus a wire EDM. He has an abundance of good old-fashioned ambition, and the team has complete faith that under his management that the EDM department will flow efficiently.

Trenton has recently completed extensive training in the shop’s new CAD/CAM software in addition to these responsibilities. He will start designing and programming electrodes, making his department a one-stop-shop. Trenton has a bright future in front of him, and we look forward to seeing what he can accomplish.

MMD Medical (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota)

Daniel Schuler, Mold Builder

Daniel’s can-do attitude, solid mechanical aptitude and exceptional expertise and skills for his level make him a promising young mold builder. He is a strong contributor to the high-performing team at MMD Medical.

Operational excellence drives our business, where we are tenacious in discovering the absolute best, most cost-effective and innovative solutions for the medical device industry. Daniel has repeatedly proven that he is more than capable of helping us meet the critical technical demands in the Class II and Class III medical device markets.

Drawn to mold building and machining because of the variety of work, the hands-on nature and the challenge of figuring things out, Daniel graduated from Dunwoody College of Technology in 2015 as a member of the Dean’s List with a degree in machine tool technology.

Before MMD Medical, Daniel honed his craft as a general machinist working with multiple machines, inspecting products using GD&T, running CNC mills and machining components.

When he joined MMD Medical as a machinist six years ago, Daniel exhibited an outstanding work ethic and knowledge of machining and CAM programming. Interested in applying his skill set to other business areas, he applied to the mold building team when a position became available. He quickly progressed from a beginner to a valuable team member.

We knew Daniel would bring valuable contributions to the mold building team because of his background at the company, his proven skills and ability, his demonstrated mechanical aptitude and his machine trades certification. Daniel has grown from apprentice to Level 1 mold builder to his current role as a Level 2 mold builder.

Today, Daniel works in multiple areas of the shop floor. His many responsibilities include building and repairing new molds for the medical industry, performing revision modifications and conducting continuous improvement to existing molds. Some of his specialties are high-speed milling final cavity detail, cutting electrodes, final grinding, assembly and PMs of our existing fleet of medical molds.

Along with his day-to-day responsibilities, he has taken the lead on several new mold builds and built his first tool on his last year. Daniel is a positive example to his peers because he continues to learn and expand his capabilities. Since toolmaking is a craft requiring robust technical skills, he elected to attend a three-day training at MoldTrax (Ashland, Ohio) in 2019 to earn a certificate in mold maintenance and repair to expand his knowledge.

As his career as a mold builder continues to advance, we are confident Daniel’s ambition, dedication and expertise will propel him on his journey of becoming a Level 3 mold builder and beyond.

Matsuura USA (St. Paul, Minnesota)

Nicholas Mitchell, Application Engineer

Nicholas is an innovator and thought leader who is helping to shape the future of moldmaking and AM. He graduated from Dunwoody College of Technology, earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in engineering drafting and design. What separates Nicholas from the rest is his determination and resolve to be a part of emerging technology. He quickly realized how different and transformative 3D metal AM can be in moldmaking.

Nicholas initially learned about hybrid AM technology and moldmaking throughout his classwork, but then followed that up with researching Matsuura and its metal laser sintering/CNC milling hybrid technology. His interest grew and eventually led him to Matsuura’s internship program, where he generated fresh ideas in moldmaking and demonstrated enthusiasm to gain real-world experience.

As an intern, much of his role was taking work off our busy Matsuura Lumex Team’s plate to facilitate projects. Nick was doing the actual work and doing it well. We have the utmost trust in Nick, as he took the internship at Matsuura USA as seriously as he would a full-time job. Showing dedication, he always met deadlines and exceeded our goals.

Nick quickly realized how transformative 3D metal AM in moldmaking could be. He has become integral in training and supporting distributor engineers and customers in the operation and application of the Lumex product line within mold manufacturing. He empowers innovation by connecting with partners and customers to share information and collaborate. He is the first in the morning to arrive for a moldmaking project and the last to leave. He not only seeks to find the answer, but he also enjoys problem solving along the way.

He is continuing with his education and is a candidate for a B.S. in industrial engineering technology. Nick also earned his Certified Solidworks Associate (CSWA) certification, Certified Solidworks Professional (CSWP) certification, and certifications from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS, Fairfax, Virginia).

Metro Mold & Design (Rogers, Minnesota)

Nebyou Demessie, Toolmaker

Since joining Metro Mold & Design in 2016, Nebyou has spent time at both the medical and industrial facilities. He has worked as a precision machinist, thermoplastics setup technician, and now a full-time apprentice in our industrial facility toolroom.

Nebyou is quickly gaining the knowledge necessary to become a master toolmaker while continuing to service MMD and its customers with machine setup, process flow, tool maintenance and troubleshooting.

Nebyou is a highly dedicated employee who leverages his cross-training to assist multiple parts of the organization. He loves a challenge and can be counted on to handle them individually with minimal supervision and direction. Nebyou works hand-in-hand with manufacturing and toolroom leadership to improve processes and then demonstrates great leadership while implementing these processes to meeting customer deadlines and expectations.

The sky is the limit for Nebyou as his dedication and passion for the industry prove invaluable to MMD and customers.