Arconic Inc. named Charles “Chip” Blankenship as CEO, effective January 15, 2018. Blankenship is a 24-year veteran of General Electric who spent much of his career in its aviation and jet engine businesses, including running its commercial engine operations.

Blankenship, 51, brings 20 years of aerospace experience to Arconic, having worked across GE’s aviation businesses, including aero engines, industrial gas turbines and aerospace alloy development.

Blankenship is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and serves on the board of the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM), where he has also led NAM’s Task Force on Competitiveness & the Workforce. He holds seven patents related to jet engine technology.

Arconic’s board praised Blankenship’s “deep operating experience in aerospace and materials science.”

A metallurgist by training, Blankenship will replace interim CEO David Hess, who has served since April 2017 when former CEO Klaus Kleinfeld was forced out.

Arconic was formed in 2016 after Alcoa’s board unanimously approved a plan to separate Alcoa into two independent, publicly-traded companies. Web: arconic.com


Liam Wheeler was promoted from financial director to managing director of Montrose Holdings, which is part of the Bufab Group. Wheeler has been with Montrose for 12 years.

Former owner and managing director Charles Ainsworth will continue to work for Bufab as business development manager.

“As Montrose enters the next phase of its development, we have a strong management team in place and along with the added resource and expertise from our new sister companies I can see no reason for Montrose not to continue its positive trajectory,” stated Wheeler.

Founded in 1991, UK-based Montrose Holdings has 70 employees located in High Wycombe, Southampton and Bedford, England (following the acquisition of Thunderbolts Ltd in May). The company supplies fasteners and special components, as well as products for MRO for the electronics, aerospace and construction markets. Web: TheMontroseGroup.com

During the first six months of 2017, Bufab sales rose 11% to SEK 1.64 billion with organic growth at 6%. Operating profit increased to SEK 167 million and the operating margin was 10.2%. Web: Bufab.com


Earnest Machine was awarded the 2017 Business Longevity Award from Smart Business News. The award recognized 44 northeast Ohio companies with at least 50 years in business that have demonstrated their ability to adapt and evolve with the changing times.

Earnest Machine was founded in 1948 by Paul Earnest Zehnder to sell fasteners to the heavy equipment industry that was building the infrastructure of post-WWII America.

Today Earnest Machine relies on modern tools—such as e- commerce, YouTube videos and a quoting app for specialty fasteners.

“We operate as a startup company,” Kirk Zehnder, the founder’s grandson said. “We view our competition as the Amazons and Zappos of the world, the companies that incite innovation to drive success.”

Zehnder also emphasizes employee engagement tools and above-market benefits to help create a culture of respect, teamwork and fun.

“My grandfather treated employees like family, with picnics, clambakes, Christmas parties, bonuses and room for growth. Because we still do those things and more, we’ll celebrate our 70th anniversary next year and look forward to many more.”

Earnest maintains warehouses, sales and manufacturing facilities in Ohio and England, plus warehouses in Georgia and Indiana, and is based at 1250 Linda St., Rocky River, OH 44116. Tel: 800 327-6378 Web: EarnestMachine.com


Lisa Kleinhändler and Cris Young of Ohio-based Hudson Fasteners received a U.S. patent for their Product Genius Technology.

The patent covers inventions built for eCommerce to improve customer experience of online shopping allowing customers to search, sort and purchase from thousands of products on one page. The proprietary technology organizes product catalogs with multiple dimensions into a single page, allowing customers to see all product variations at once. 

Product Genius Technology was built in 2015 and has been beta tested on Kleinhändler’s 80-year-old family fastener business website: HudsonFasteners.com.

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued Patent 9,760,944 for Systems, Methods, Servers and clients for inventory exchange.

Kleinhändler is CEO and Young EVP of the software company they founded.

“Today’s marketplace is growing increasingly competitive with the introduction of new Internet technologies almost daily,” Kleinhändler said.

“The most successful businesses will be those who leverage their intellectual property to give customers the experience they are looking for when buying products.”

They have applied for multiple patents as “a necessary step as more B2B industrial buyers convert to online and mobile ordering processes,” Kleinhändler said.

Product Genius Technology is a portfolio company at the Youngstown Business Incubator and is located at 241 W. Federal St., Youngstown, OH 44503. Tel: 800 327-8363