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Daniel Warner, of Purdue University, is this month's featured student.
WMIA announces 2008 Wooden Globe Awards
The Woodworking Machinery Association (WMIA) announced the winners of the 2008 Wooden Globes for its Innovator, Educator and Commitment to Excellence through Technology Awards at San Diego’s Paradise Point Resort at its 21st annual awards dinner.
When welcoming the WMIA’s board of directors, guests and media representatives, president Tom Reisert, Edward B. Mueller Company, Inc., said, “These are tough times and some segments of our industry are struggling. However, there are some segments that are moving forward, continuing to do so by ‘Re-Engineering, Re-Tooling and Re-Educating’ their plants and personnel.”
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
According to James Madsen, WMIA member and a Stiles Machinery sales engineer, “Paladin Industries, a family-owned woodworking and panel processing company founded by Larry and Barbara Bell in 1984, has unquestionably satisfied these criteria through its investment in high-technology equipment and innovation in its usage. As a result, it virtually owns its industry niche, that of providing components to the automotive industry, such as robot-sanded solid maple and walnut shift knobs, that most manufacturers neither want to deal with nor have the capacity to produce.“
Larry Bell, Paladin’s CEO and co-founder, accepted the award.
EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
John Park, WMIA member and Delmac, Inc., general manager, announced the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) based in Madison, Wis., as winner of the 2008 Educator Award that honors educational programs that produce trained, motivated and skilled employees for wood product manufacturing companies, especially those integrating today’s high-technology equipment. Curricula must reflect the needs of today’s marketplace, must not be limited to employees of a single company, and provide hands-on training using high-technology equipment supplied by WMIA members.
Patrick Molzahn, MATC’s cabinetmaking and millwork program director — as well as a member of the Woodwork Career Alliance board, the AWFS Education Committee, and WoodLINKS USA’s state and national boards — accepted the award.
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
In the fourth year since WMIA’s Commitment to Excellence through Technology Award was established, for the first time there were two winners.
Jerry Hilgefort, WMIA member and president of Hilgefort Woodworking Machinery Co., said, “In my 40 years of selling woodworking machinery, I have yet to find another firm with the philosophy and commitment to improving its competitiveness in the marketplace than Jasper Chair Company.”
The award was accepted by Jeff Barth, Jasper Chair’s vice president.
Brian Stiles, WMIA member and Stiles Machinery sales engineer, noted that in WMIA president Tom Reisert’s opening remarks he noted that one of the Wooden Globe recipients has taken the “Re-Engineering, Re-Tooling and Re-Education” message to heart.“ The second winner of the Commitment to Excellence through Technology Award is Custom Cupboards Inc.
Lance Johanson, Custom Cupboard’s vice president of operations, accepted the Award.
BIESSE PLANS FOR NEW CANADIAN HEADQUARTERS
Continuing to expand its North American presence, Biesse has commissioned a new headquarters building in Mirabel, Quebec for its Canadian subsidiaries, Biesse Canada and Intermac Canada.
The new facility, located north-west of Montreal, puts Biesse within two hours’ driving-distance of 90 percent of its clients in Quebec, and just 30 minutes from Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. Additionally, the location’s proximity to Mirabel International Airport offers a logistical advantage in the delivery of same-day parts.
“The headquarters’ site in Mirabel was strategically chosen for easy access to freight transportation at the logistical airport of Montreal: Mirabel International Airport,” said Federico Broccoli, president and CEO of the North American operations of Biesse and Intermac. “The new Canadian headquarters will be located 5.8 km (3.6 miles) from this airport.”
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Name: Daniel Warner
School: Purdue University
Year in school: Senior
Age: 26
GPA: 2.5
Major/Program: Wood Products Manufacturing Technology
How did you become interested in working with wood?
I started out in my dad’s cabinet shop in Tell City, Ind. when I was about 11 years old. There was plenty of woodworking going on in my town.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Inspiration for my work comes from either a need for a piece of furniture where function defines the form or a piece of lumber that defines its use. Most of the time ideas just come out of left field. Most recently, inspiration for ideas comes from the turn-of-the century machinery I am gathering.
What kind of woodworking experience do you have?
I have been at this for over 14 years. I’ve done a few custom jobs over the years. The most memorable custom job I did was a kitchen in which the centerpiece was an old yellow poplar store counter that I modified from straight to having a 76-degree mitre in the center. On top of that, it also had the sink mounted at the point of the mitre and the dishwasher had to fit into it. That same customer also wanted a 7-ft. window seat made out of reclaimed beech that had storage in it.
I worked for a year at Swiss Plywood in the machine room. There I did everything from run a panel mill and rough mill to CNC operation. They made high-end organ cases and other contract production work. We picked up the small orders and provided extra production capacity of other factories in the area.
I’ve been the lab technician for four years at Purdue. I have been the CNC router teacher’s assistant for the last three offerings of our CNC manufacturing course. That is a real challenge. Taking prototype designs and cutting them out in a way that maximizes quality and efficient use of time is a difficult thing to teach a designer. Each design presents its own unique challenges to me as a CNC operator. Often both the designer (the student) and I learn from the experience.
I have also been operating a portable band mill for five years. My family farm bought one five years ago, and so far I have been the only one to operate it. I have been able to keep up with the farm’s needs well enough that I could also do some contract sawing on the side. Just recently, I cut over 2,000 bd. ft. of material in the evenings and on Saturday. That included some beautiful huge white oak that I ended up quartering.
What was your latest project?
My latest piece was a cherry blanket chest with purpleheart inlay. It was a wedding present for a good friend of mine. I used a combination of techniques to make this box. For the inlay I used the university’s Thermwood router. For the dovetails I used a Leigh jig. For the final truing up of the cabinet, I used some pretty traditional hand tools.
My most recently acquired project, although not woodworking but definitely woodworking related, is this antique moulder. I find the antique machines to be fascinating compared to their modern equivalents and are a joy to operate.
