Kitagawa-Northtech Hires Senior Manager of Engineering and Quality Processes

Kitagawa-Northtech, Inc., provider of workholding products and solutions, has named Ed Johannesen Senior Manager of Engineering and Quality. Johannesen will lead the design engineering group, quality function and lead continuous improvement processes for the company.

Before joining Kitagawa-Northtech, Johannesen held manufacturing engineering and quality management positions at various industrial companies, most notably Nissan Forklift and Toyoda Machinery USA, over the past 15 years. While at Nissan, his contributions included new product and process development, CNC and robotic equipment implementation and cross-functional team leadership. He managed both internal and external engineering and quality teams responsible for machining, fabrication, welding, paint and assembly operations. He led many continuous improvement initiatives and activities using the Nissan Value-Up (six-sigma) methodology and tools, and refined the implementation of the Nissan Production Way, which is an ongoing effort to synchronize operations to customer demand. Certified as a V-Pilot and trained as a V-Expert, Johannesen successfully demonstrated year over year improvement in vehicle manufacturing productivity, quality and safety.

"The tools and skill sets that I have developed from extensive continuous improvement projects are directly transferrable to my role at Kitagawa-Northtech," said Johannesen. "I am also very proud to join Kitagawa-Northtech, and to be a part of the most respected brands of workholding solutions in the metalworking industry."

Johannesen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial technology from Southern Illinois University and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.

For more information contact:

Kitagawa-Northtech, Inc.

301 E. Commerce Drive

Schaumburg, IL 60173

800-222-4138

info@kitagawa.com

www.kitagawa.com