In February The Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing (SVAM) accepted nominations for the 2014 Outstanding Woman in Manufacturing Award. SVAM asked its member companies to nominate one woman within their company they felt has risen about the rest. The purpose of the award is to show the significant role that women play in manufacturing. This award highlights women, at all levels, who have demonstrated excellence in manufacturing.
Each of the nominated individuals have set themselves apart in their company through their loyalty, leadership, creativity, and much more.
The winner of the 2014 Outstanding Woman in Manufacturing Award is Juanita McIntyre of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.
Juanita McIntyre
Plant Manager
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
Juanita was chosen because of her work ethic, personal drive, resilience, and commitment to excellence. Juanita McIntyre, or simply “Nita” as she is referred by her colleagues, began her career in 1976 with, then Brunswick Corporation, as an assembler of billiard tables. Her leadership abilities were quickly noticed and she was promoted to supervisor in the lamination and assembly areas. Nita demonstrated a keen eye for identifying cost reduction opportunities and was an advocate of continuous improvement and waste reduction long before “Lean and Six Sigma” were common manufacturing terms.
Over the years, Brunswick changed to Marion Composites, then Advanced Technical Products prior to becoming General Dynamics. Through these transitions, Nita continued to preserve and move up through the ranks as a General Supervisor, Process Manager, and eventually Plant Manager for some of the most advanced defense programs in the industry.
The tremendous demands of a career in manufacturing did not deter Nita from furthering her education and personal development. In 1999 Nita continued her studies at Virginia Intermont College and in 2002, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in three and a half years.
In 2007, she was recognized with the General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products Presidents Award for Outstanding Achievement.
After more than 37 years in manufacturing, Nita is valued for her technical knowledge and manufacturing expertise. She is respected for her work ethic and commitment to excellence. She is admired for her fairness and sense of compassion. Ultimately, Nita sets an example as a role model for all manager in manufacturing.“
-James Maas, Director Production Operations
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
Honorees
Beth Bennett
Production Supervisor
Scholle Packaging, Inc.
“Beth Bennett has worked for Scholle 14 years. She started as a temp employee in Production working as a Packer. She eventually moved up to Operator and Quality and worked in those positions for several years. Next she was promoted to a Lead position and began working on her Associates Degree in Business Management which she achieved. She is now a Salary Production Supervisor and working on completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Beth is a success story, one that confirms how women who are willing, can excel by selecting industry as their career choice, even beginning at entry levels. Beth does an outstanding job as Supervisor and the employees respect and appreciate her.“
– Melinda Roberts, Human Resources Manager, Scholle Packaging, Inc.
Susan Garrett
Production Assistant
SteelFab
“Susan joined SteelFab in 2006 as Master Scheduler. In 2012 Susan took over a challenging position with the Production/Manufacturing department. Susan has excelled in this role and continues to have responsibilities added to this newly created position. Susan has become the “go to” person for production answers. Susan has played a key in the move of SteelFab to Lebanon. Susan has made herself an expert in many of the processes and procedures at SteelFab and she is generous in sharing that expert information.“
– Rhonda Meadows, HR Manager, SteelFab
Renae Anderson
Color Department Manager
Universal Fibers
“Ranae manages the Color Department at Universal Fibers. Her position is critical to continued success as she oversees the quality control systems that ensure a world class product. Ranae is detected to process improvement and has led her department to a 20% increase in productivity. Her implementation of a dedicated “work off” program resulted in a savings of $500,000. She works closely with engineering and maintenance to optimize production. Ranae is a champion of self improvement for associates, encouraging development classes and seminars.“
– Timothy Lawson, HR Manager, Universal Fibers
Lisa Mullinax
Senior Configuration Management Specialist
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
“As a Senior Configuration Management Specialist, Lisa is the administrator of our MasterControl configuration management (CM) system and a super-user of Oracle, our Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) system. Her responsibilities include managing all of our configuration-controlled documents and ensuring that up-to-date documents are issued to the manufacturing floor and into our supply chain in a timely fashion. A CM professional holding a certification from Arizona State University, Lisa maintains over 110,000 company and customer drawings, specifications and work instruction in our Configuration Management system. She is always pleasant, helpful and collaborative and delivers outstanding customer service with every transaction.
Beyond this role, which she manages single-handedly, Lisa is a driving force behind the GD-OTS involvement in Relay for Life event to benefit the American Cancer Society. As our team Captain, she is one of the faces of GD-OTS in the community and favorably reflects our Company’s emphasis on, and commitment to, local community service.“
– Jim Talley, Sr. Director – Engineering and Quality, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
