MERA – The Association for Sustainable Manufacturing – will announce the winner of the second annual Michael Cardone Leadership Award at its annual conference taking place Sept. 26-27 in metro Detroit. The award recognizes an individual who demonstrates exceptional leadership in remanufacturing and sustainability.
Presented during the “Leadership Track” on the second day of the MERA Sustainable Manufacturing Conference, the Leadership Award is named in honor of Michael Cardone Jr., co-founder and chief strategy officer, CARDONE Industries Inc.
Cardone Jr. co-founded the company, a global supplier of new and remanufactured automotive products based in Philadelphia, with his late father, Michael Cardone Sr., in 1970.
Today, the family business, spanning three generations, is the largest family-owned remanufacturer of automotive parts in the world. Cardone Jr. is the founding chairman of MERA, and his son, Michael Cardone III, serves on the MERA board of directors.
“The Michael Cardone Leadership Award exemplifies key traits of Michael Cardone Jr.: vision, passion, teamwork and excellence,” said John Chalifoux, president and chief operating officer, MERA. “With this award, we honor the legacy of the Cardone family and recognize other outstanding leaders in our industry.”
Eric Smith, the owner of Impression Products Inc., a family owned business in Charleston, West Virginia, was the recipient of the inaugural Michael Cardone Leadership Award. MERA presented Smith with the award at its annual conference in 2017. In a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2017, the Impression Products v. Lexmark International decision addressed the question of whether a patent owner may prevent certain reuse, including remanufacturing, of patented products. The decision upheld a longstanding Supreme Court precedent that has existed for more than 150 years, as the Court continued to fully endorse secondary markets for patented goods under the doctrine of patent exhaustion.
Industry executives looking to experience the 2018 winning announcement in-person should register to attend the MERA Annual Conference. To register, click here.
