Norican Group announced two high-level management placements for its North American organization, naming Jim Brown as senior vice president of Operations - North America, and Sandy Calabrese as the new director of sales for DISA - North America.
Norican is a holding company for a series of businesses that supply equipment and technology to foundries and diecasters. It includes DISA, a supplier of green-sand molding technologies; ItalPresseGauss, suppliers of high-pressure diecasting technologies; Simpson Technologies, a developer of machinery for sand mixing, dosing, handling, reclamation, and analysis; StrikoWestofen, suppliers of light-metal melting, holding, pouring, and dosing furnaces; and Wheelabrator, suppliers of shot-blasting, shot-peening, and surface-preparation systems.
The group also includes Monitizer, an Industrial IoT platform with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning capabilities.
As senior vice president of Operations - North America, Mr. Brown is responsible for driving operational success, contributing to the group’s competitiveness, resilience, and ability to adapt to evolving market conditions. His experience includes more than 25 years in automotive and aerospace sector engineering, operations, and management positions. This includes more than 10 years of direct plant leadership, according to an announcement.
Brown – who holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Western Michigan University and M.B.A. from the University of Michigan – is knowledgeable in productivity and quality systems, having worked with World Class Manufacturing (WCM), ISO 9001:2015, Kaizen, and 5-S programs to create a lean and continuous improvement culture.
"Jim is an extremely talented addition to our team and will be an important addition of expertise to our leadership team,” according to Norican Group president - North America Bruce Dienst. “We look forward to his contributions as we continue to grow and take all lines of business in North America to new heights."
Sandy Calabrese brings 28 years of metalcasting and automotive industry experience to her new role as director of Sales for DISA - North America. According to a Norican announcement, she is “an experienced and accomplished professional, … poised to make significant contributions to the DISA sales team in North America.
“Sandy's leadership will play a crucial role in showcasing DISA’s long-standing tradition of innovation, reliability, and commitment to providing the most advanced green-sand molding technologies, including vertical, matchplate and horizontal flask molding,” the statement continued.
Mrs. Calabrese has held a series of important positions at General Motors in operations management, customer relations, and engineering, including maintenance manager, chief metallurgist, melting superintendent, and site manager.
Calabrese earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Technological University, and she has been an active advocate for women in manufacturing, serving as a leader for the GM and AFS Women in Manufacturing group, and a founding member of the non-profit STEM Foundation – Get WISE.
In the metalcasting industry Calabrese has served as a director for the American Foundry Society (AFS) and the Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF). Currently, she is a member of the Trine University Metals Advisory Board in Angola, Indiana.
“Sandy's addition demonstrates our commitment to bringing in top-tier talent to elevate our operations and drive success across the entire Norican Group. We eagerly anticipate the positive outcomes that will result from her strategic leadership and contributions to our continued growth in North America," according to Dienst.