SPE honors top trio in mold making, design, repair

Mold makers, designers and repair technicians put plastics processors in the position to not only satisfy their customers but help them win market share.

Three individuals who stood out for their expertise and success were honored recently by the Society of Plastics Engineers Inc. (SPE), which just added the repair category this year.

The SPE award winners are:

• Patrick "Pat" Roussey, president of Mayer Tool & Engineering Inc, in Sturgis, Mich., who was named 2023 Mold Maker of the Year.

• Charles "Chuck" Heitmeyer, senior tooling engineer at Allied Molded Products Inc. in Bryan, Ohio, who was named 2023 Mold Designer of the year.

• John Demakis Sr., owner of Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales in Wauconda, Ill., who was named 2023 Mold Repair Technician of the Year.

The awards were presented by SPE's Mold Technologies Division at PT-EXPO on March 29. The Mold Maker of the Year Award, which was started in 1983, was underwritten by Hasco America while the Mold Designer of the Year Award is underwritten by Progressive Components Inc. It was started in 1992.

The inaugural year for the Mold Technician of the Year Award is underwritten by Mold-Traxx LLC.

Roussey began an apprenticeship at Mayer Tool in 1996 at age 25 and became a company asset who helped the small-town business grow into an international tooling supplier and extend its customer base to more than 50 recurring customers.

After working on the shop floor as an apprentice, Roussey became a toolmaker then a foreman and company president. At age 51, he bought the company from its original owners in the summer of 2020.

Sheldon Phillips started working with Roussey 10 years ago when he was at Wadal Plastics, which is now called Deluxe Plastics, before accepting a position at Mayer Tool. He is now a Wisconsin-based project manager with 35 years of experience at various tool shops.

"I have appreciated Pat's knowledge, professionalism, and honesty so much over the years that when I had an opportunity to work for him, I could not pass it up," Phillips said.

"Now that I work for Pat, I see he administers all customers with the same honesty and professionalism which, in turn, provides a steady flow of repeat business."

Sean Kelley, who has worked with Roussey since the early 2000's in roles ranging from supplier to customer to coworker, said he applauds knowledge in tool making, processing, troubleshooting and problem solving.

Kelley now is the South Carolina-based project manager who has worked with Roussey to meet the needs of customers, suppliers, designers, tool makers, process technicians and project managers throughout the Midwest and southeastern United States as well as partners in Asia.

"One of Pat's greatest traits is his ability to continue to learn new things at the same time that he is teaching others. His focus on finding a solution for MTE customers is as genuine as it gets," Kelley said.

Another employee, Chance Dules, who started working for Mayer Tool in 2018 without any previous introduction to the tooling industry, said Roussey's dedication is bar none.

"His ability to teach and mentor is exceptional, and for me personally it has been a true blessing. I would not be where I am today without Pat's commitment and patience," Dules said. "It's not only Pat's skillset and love for the trade, but the commitment to his customers is truly genuine and unmatched. Some of Pat's best friends are current or previous customers."

Roussey's son, Tyler, said he has been around the business his whole life but he just started realizing the scope of his father's passion for the plastics industry when he took a full-time position in May 2022 to manage day-to-day operations on the shop floor.

"I have a very long way to go in regards to my knowledge of the industry as a whole, but I have learned so much more than I had thought in this short amount of time," Tyler Roussey said. "This can be attributed to Pat's well-rounded understanding of the trade, teaching skills, care for his customer base, strong work ethic, and eagerness to always work to be better."

Charles Heitmeyer started his career at Injection Molding Service in Ottawa, Ohio, in 1978 and now has more 40 years of experience in mold design. His skills next led him to Ramtec in Bryan, Ohio, where he and some co-workers started Spectrum Design Group. Heitmeyer spent more than 25 years there. Now he is a senior tooling engineer for AMG Tool & Die, a company that designs, builds new and repairs compression and injection molds for both thermoset and thermoplastic materials.

The last year has been an impressive one for Heitmeyer, according to his nominators. They point to five projects, including one where the engineer spearheaded the design for a proprietary universal mold base that allows cavity stacks to be easily and quickly exchanged while still in the press. This dramatically reduces time for changeovers and repairs.

Another customer had a revolutionary new product for their market that was predicated on the use of two-shot molding.

"Chuck was instrumental in design of the mold that overcame multiple design challenges and in debugging the 2-shot molding process. The successful introduction of this product for the customer has put them in a position to dominate the market," they wrote to SPE.

Another customer came to AMG with a problem related to a product being molded by another supplier. The solution involved an insert molded crossbar.

"Chuck developed a mold design that solved their tight tolerance requirements and reduced the overall cost of the product resulting in a very appreciative customer," they said.

For another project, Heitmeyer came up with a double helix cooling jacket for a nozzle that significantly improved the cooling capacity of the water jacket, which improved the performance of the mold.

Heitmeyer also solved a scrap problem by converting a compression molded part to injection molding.

"The customer felt the compression molding process was needed to produce a higher strength part. Chuck design an injection mold that successfully molded parts that met all the strength requirements but also was inserted to mold the machined version complete without any secondary processing required. This was a double win for the customer," nominators said.

In addition, Heitmeyer is playing a key role in developing the next generation of engineers at AMG through his mentoring.

"He goes beyond just telling them 'what' to do, but really gets into explaining the 'why.' The benefit of this effort is very noticeable as the confidence and thoroughness of their tool designs get better each project," the nominator said.

Heitmeyer also was recognized for is role on the company's cost-estimating team for new tooling projects.

"His knowledge and understanding of mold design helps ensure that all necessary elements are included during the process. The accuracy of the cost estimates is critical to the financial success of AMG," the nominator said.

John Demakis Sr. was named mold repair person of the year even though he hasn't physically repaired a mold in years. His accomplishments involve building an entire business around the concept of mold repair and finishing to further the industry as a whole, according to nominator Tony Demakis, his son.

For more than 42 years, Demakis has been both a rock and catalyst for most of what happens at Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales, which he started with his friend, Vince Sabella.

The friends started Sabella Polishing in a garage then moved it to a small building and then expanded into a larger facility. They continued to add people and grow the business, making impacts along the way, Tony Demakis said.

"In 1981, they decided that that they could do and be more, so they partnered with Margo Garcia and purchased and established Duro-Chrome. Continuing to be visionaries and pushing to be better, in 1990 they moved operations to the current facility in Wauconda, Ill., and soon after split companies and Alliance Specialties was born," Tony Demakis said.

When a young mold maker named Doug Niggemann was hired, he and John Demakis pioneered laser welding for mold repair and became the first company in the country to offer the solution, according to the nomination letter.

"John also recognized the need in the industry for a company focused strictly on maintenance and repair, a company with no interest in building molds, but instead putting an emphasis on servicing mold makers in the best ways possible," Tony Demakis said.

The next service offered was hot runner maintenance and repair, including a fluidized sandbath oven.

All along, John Demakis built strong relationships with employees.

"I can tell you that the relationships that he has formed over 40 years of business are significant to his life," Tony Demakis said. "He is a godfather to employees' children, as kids we spent countless Christmases and vacations with people at work. I have never met anyone who doesn't have a story or a way that John has impacted their life."

Tony Demakis said his father is a man of integrity with a passion for the industry.

"I can tell you that his tenacity is off the charts. He fights for what he believes and will not stop till it is accomplished," Tony Demakis added. "His will is infectious and his tenacity is inspiring. Tenacity is how he has been able to turn a two-man polishing shop into a 50-plus person hub for all things plastic injection mold repair and finishing."

That hub offers polishing, laser welding, laser engraving, mold repair and hot runner repair and maintenance.

While John Demakis isn't hands-on when it comes to those services, his son said he deserved consideration for the new SPE award and to receive it.

"Like I said, John has not physically cranked handles, or welded, or polished, or changed heaters, or any of the other tasks that go into this category. Instead he built a business where all the work could be done under one roof," Tony Demakis said. "So, when you look for an inaugural nominee for mold repair professional of the year, and you look at all the reasons listed above, to me it doesn't get better than John Demakis."