After graduating from University of Wisconsin — Platteville with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology Management, Connor Montgomery began his career in the heat treating industry at Neenah Enterprises, Inc. as a melt foreman. Connor also worked as the manager of foundry operations and later as the general manager of Crucible Metal Solutions, Inc. In 2015, Connor began his career with Aalberts (formerly Applied Process) as a process engineer in 2015 and had demonstrated his leadership skills by transitioning into the quality manager position before assuming the role of plant manager in Oshkosh, WI in 2022.

Connor is a strong proponent of “Quality of Life” improvement for employees to make daily work tasks easier and more efficient. Understanding the importance of building strong teams and supporting them for success, his focus on the examination of hiring and retention practices as well as his emphasis on effective communication have resulted in a complete cultural change within the facility that he manages.

Connor is leading major efforts to improve flow, efficiency, and throughput in the Oshkosh plant. He has introduced the use of modern lean tools such as 5S, FIFO, and Supermarkets to reduce the amount of unproductive manhours. He is actively involved in the reduction of additional waste within plant processing. Connor is a graduate from MTI’s YES Program and is currently working on earning an MBA from the University of Wisconsin — Oshkosh.

Under Connor’s leadership, the Oshkosh plant has realized dramatic increases in throughput resulting in record sales and increased client satisfaction. The Oshkosh plant is one of the largest commercial austempering facilities within North America and includes the “Monster Furnace,” which is the largest atmosphere-to salt furnace in operation within North America.

Nominated by: Aalberts surface technologies HIP | braze | heat treatment