Manufacturing Executives of the Year

(Large Company)
Randy Gardiner, CEO,
Red Dot Corporation, Tukwila

If only for his track record as an executive at Red Dot, Randy Gardiner would be a prime candidate for recognition as one of Washingtons top business executives. The maker of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for trucks and heavy agriculture, construction and mining equipment has grown to more than $110 million in annual revenue and more than 400 employees. Last year, the company invested in expanding its own research, testing and development center, and acquired a firm in Ohio to diversify its markets and give it more production capacity. It has also moved into making HVAC equipment for military vehicles. With agriculture and mining doing well and trucking on the rebound, business, Gardiner says, is almost too good.
But its in the realm of workforce training that Gardiner is especially winning plaudits. Hes been an active and vocal advocate of manufacturing as an attractive career path for todays students, and matching the training of those potential workers to the jobs they could land. Manufacturing struggles to connect with and recruit people who are potentially interested in our business, he says. Through the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Puget Sound, involvement with the First Robotics program, serving on the Washington Economic Development Council and setting up training and internship programs at his own company, Gardiner is pushing the manufacturing community to correct the mismatch. We have to take responsibility, he asserts.

(Midsize Company)
Craig Dias, General Manager
Haskins Steel Company, Spokane

Metals supply and services is an old-line business, and Haskins Steel is a longtime Eastern Washington company in that industry, but you dont get to that status through inactivity. Haskins Steel has kept busy, moving into a new warehouse (transporting 4.5 million pounds of steel and aluminum in one weekend), replacing older lighting fixtures with energy efficient equipment, implementing lean management practices and landing ISO 9001 certification. The company increased revenue by 37 percent in one year. It is a vocal advocate of hiring military veterans as well as National Guard members and reservists.
That might be enough to keep most people busy, but Craig Dias has been able to keep Haskins efficient and thriving while also devoting considerable time to community involvement. Beneficiaries of his time and expertise include the Inland Northwest Lighthouse for the Blind, Greater Spokane Inc., Washington Policy Center and Spokane Area Workforce Development Council.
Dias exemplifies business engagement as a positive force for community and economic development, says Mark Mattke, executive director of the Spokane Area Workforce Development Council. He understands the linkages between a healthy economy and a skilled workforce. Craig has demonstrated his commitment to improving the skills of his own workers by investing in training and providing resources that enable his staff to add to their knowledge base and advance along careers pathways within the company.