Members of MERA’s CEO, Remanufacturing Business (RBC), and Technology & Operations (TOps) Councils returned to Chicago on June 1-2 for the annual All-Councils Event.
Day 1 was hosted at the beautiful new offices of RSM located downtown, right on the Chicago River. The day started with lunch and was followed by a series of sessions addressing today’s most relevant business issues.
Bart Huthwaite started the afternoon with a review of current factors impacting supply chain disruption and examples of what companies are doing to mitigate the effects. Next, HR professionals Krisi Schell of SRC Holdings, Brianna Ziegler of Alliant Power, and Patrick O’Rahilly of Factory Fix talked about their creative solutions to the challenges of recruiting, developing, and retaining a skilled workforce.
A lightning round with Bill Frymoyer from the MEMA DC office provided an update of critical issues facing the industry from a legislative and regulatory perspective. And, industry leaders Robert Isherwood of AMBAC, Derek McWhorter of River City Truck Parts, John Pinson of PurePower Technologies, and Mark Rohde of TransAxle discussed the evolution of their company cultures and personal leadership styles. The afternoon ended with a roundtable session with member-driven topics.
That evening’s networking took place at Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs won in the 10th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Day 2, attendees boarded the MERA tour bus and headed to Milwaukee. ETE Reman generously hosted the group at its headquarters, where Noah Rickun shared insight into the company’s culture and the core values they have established, honed, and instilled in their employees. Following tours of their transmission and torque converter remanufacturing operations, the group sat down over lunch for a Q&A session with the operations and leadership team.
Check out this short video recap of pictures from the event.
