Friday, July 18, 2008

Manufacturing tech executive comes home

By Catherine Williams, Special to Mass High Tech

After a six-year stretch in the golf ball manufacturing industry, Thomas Schermerhorn returned to Hopkinton-based Control Technology Corp. where he had worked for 17 years. 

Schermerhorn returns to the company as president after leaving in 2002 to serve as manager of automation and integration technology at the Titleist Golf Division of Acushnet Co. in Fairhaven.

“It’s good to be home,” said Schermerhorn, who said he is making the return trip at the board’s urging.

Schermerhorn took the reins on June 9 and replaced outgoing president Greg Woods, who served in the top spot for seven years.

The company’s board has charged Schermerhorn with expanding the company’s global presence through strategic partnerships and product development. Control Technology employs 21 workers. Schermerhorn said he plans to hire three employees by the end of the summer.

He said his short-term goal is to learn about new products developed in his absence and reconnect with clients. Schermerhorn’s long-term goals include positioning the company to compete against “larger players” and launching worldwide distribution.

As a leader, Schermerhorn said he’s “passionate about customer service.” He describes himself as a listener who surrounds himself with smart people and makes use of their talents. “I am not a dictator,” said Schermerhorn.

Control Technology manufactures programmable automation hardware and software for the medical, semiconductor and packaging industries. Manufacturers use the technology to control robotics or equipment for making pharmaceuticals, pill bottles and mail-sorting systems or to manage wastewater treatment, said Schermerhorn. Founded in 1975, Control Technology holds two U.S. patents for Internet-based technologies.

Schermerhorn, 48, said the company’s technology is so easy to use that he taught his 8-year-old daughter to use it to control a light display for trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The Massachusetts native said his father first sparked his interest in technology by encouraging him to study electronics.

Schermerhorn studied electronic engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology, computer and electronics engineering at MassBay Community College and business administration at Northeastern University.

Schermerhorn spent a year as an engineering technician at GTE Government Systems before taking a job as a test department manager at Control Technology when he was 24 years old. While working there, he held positions in the engineering, sales, marketing and product development departments. Prior to joining Acushnet, Schermerhorn served as the vice president of systems engineering at Control Technology.

While at Acushnet, Schermerhorn focused on increasing productivity and reducing costs of manufacturing processes. The position at Acushnet — a customer of Control Technology — was “a good opportunity” he said.


 

Catherine Williams is a freelance writer in Boston.