Meet The WARDJet Team

Richard Ward, President
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Specializing in Structural Concrete Design from the University of Cape Town

Born in Zimbabwe, Africa, Richard came to the USA in 1991 to manage a stone fabrication and installation company. In 1992 he started a waterjet job shop. Then in 1995 he formed RICHEL, Inc. RICHEL is a waterjet consulting company that has assisted hundreds of companies. WARDJet , Inc. was started shortly afterwards. Richard thrives on a challenge and loves designing the machines built and sold by the company.

Kelly Carter, Project / Operations Manager and International Relations
Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration
from the University of Akron

Kelly has worked for WARDJet since 1997. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in all aspects of waterjet cutting and CAD/CAM. She assists in all areas of the business - production, accounting, support, sales, marketing, etc.

Jen Nelson, Controller
Continuing education classes in accounting from the University of Akron with 9 years accounting experience

Jen has worked for WARDJet since 2002. She oversees accounts payable and accounts receivable, purchasing, payroll, quoting, billing, taxes, workers compensation, and Human Resources.

Alan Bernard, Senior Manager of Manufacturing
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Witwatersrand; Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Africa

With 18 years of experience in manufacturing, Alan oversees the coordinating, scheduling and on-going improvement of the manufacturing department. He assists in the designing of new waterjet machines and products.

Ben Adams, Electrical / Electronics Engineer
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Akron

With 5 years experience in industrial controls, Ben is involved with electrical design and development of controller interfaces, machine calibration, PLC programming, technical support, and installations.

Dennis Toering, Technical Support Manager
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
from Hanzehogeschool Groningen (The Netherlands)
Specialization in Product Design Engineering.

Dennis has 4 years of experience as Process Improvement Engineer, and oversees all technical support. He also assists with product improvement and new product development.

Mike Kensinger, Production and Maintenance Manager
12 years experience in machine repair

Mike is WARDJet’s production manager and resident pump specialist. He is in charge of scheduling the production for all WARDJet machines. He also assists with technical support, product development and installations.

Jodi Queer, Quality Assurance, Customer Care & Shipping
6 years quality & shipping experience, 3½ years inventory & machine building.

Jodi joined the WARDJet team in 2002. Jodi is responsible for the quality cycle within the plant. She oversees, from start to finish, the quality processes including the overall quality of products, the installations, and customer care follow-up. She also looks after the safety of our employees, MSDS updates, corrective actions, and the retaining of data therein.

Pam Miller, Advertising
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
from Nyack College

Pam has worked for WARDJet since 1998. She is involved with promoting all aspects of the company and its products and assists the marketing department.

Rob Vitarella, Controllers and Software
Associates Degree in Computer Science and Engineering
from Stark State University

Rob brings to the table the practical integration of controllers, software, motors, drives and electronics. As WARDJet strives to constantly improve testing procedures and search out ways to offer more to our customers, Rob's days are full and rewarding!

Adam Carder, Research and Development
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
from the Univeristy of Akron

Adam is the primary mechanical engineer for WARD Robotics and focuses chiefly on 5-axis waterjet cutting. He is also a software developer for the X-series motion controller and acts as a link between theory and practicality. Furthermore, Adam oversees Faro machine calibration, provides customer training, and assists with technical support. His previous work and military experience is very beneficial in contributing to the constant drive for WARDJet to expand the functionality and capabilities of our systems.

Dan Corby, Marketing
Web Programming Degree from ITT-Tech

With 7 years of experience in graphic design, Dan is an important part of the WARDJet marketing team and is involved in both the design and programming of our website. He is also involved in many aspects of our marketing efforts including photography, video, print and all things multimedia.

Matt Gorday, Sales and Customer Service
17 Years of Sales and Marketing Experience

Matt has worked in many areas including manufacturing, retail, marketing, sales & service, and logistics. He is very knowledgeable about waterjet cutting and has become an integral part of our team. If you've ever called us with a question, chances are you've spoken with Matt!

Jeff Day, Sales Manager
BBA
University of Massachusetts

Jeff has many qualified years of experience in the machine tool industry and is able to use all of that knowledge on a daily basis at WARDJet. He is deeply involved with customer service as well as process and product improvement. He is a valuable member of the WARDJet team and can often be found out cutting parts on our production floor!

Vicki Benedetto, Shipping Coordinator

Vicki has been with WARDJet since 2007. She works directly with customers, helping them with their freight shipping needs - both US and International. She also handles all of the company's travel needs and helps in many of the other departments as well, including parts.

Bill Krobetzky, Service Technician
8 Years Experience With Waterjet Machining / Maintenance

Bill has been with WARDJet since January 2008. His experience and depth of knowledge with waterjet cutting puts him in many areas around the shop including fabrication, machine installation, training, design, and service.

Jeffrey L. Gauthier, Research and Development
Associates Degree in Database Administration
from Stark State College of Technology

With WARDJet since June of 2007, Jeff has a hand in many aspects of the business including program maintenance, controller software development, database management and administration, and backend programming for our website. His work revolves around automating procedures and general process improvement.

Keith Beamer, Fabricator
12 Years Manufacturing Experience
Background in waterjet cutting

Keith does just about anything from building of all components of stock and custom machines to weldment to the final product. Around here he is considered the WARD Recycling Unit Guru and is involved in design, fabrication, installation, setup and maintenance of all machinery.

Nathan Hill, Research and Development
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems, Cisco Networking
Started at WARDjet in June 2004

Nate builds our controllers and wiring cabinets for the WARD Pro and waterjet machines. He is also involved in building Z carriages, height sensors, mini-hoppers, Psy-Winders and installs the controller operating systems and software.

James Whalen, Software Engineer
Associates Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Stark State University

James has designed and implemented features for the Ikuhlu motion control software ranging from creating the maintenance tracking system, and machine setup systems to building the core features of the part rendering systems, and diagnostic controls. He is the lead developer of the WARDCAM software. He also designed and created the core systems behind the CAM software ranging from the base rendering systems and computational geometry library to the end user interface controls.

Dave Lambach, Machine Builder
32 years experience working in design and manufacturing

Dave was recently hired for fabrication and assembly of watejet machines.

Don Krites, CNC Machinist
30 years experience as Journeyman CNC Machinist

Don was recently hired for fabrication and assembly of waterjet machines.

Kim Allen, Shipping Coordinator / Receptionist
15+ Years Administrative Experience

Kim has been with WARDJet since 2010. She is responsible for coordinating shipments with customers. She answers the phones, coordinates travel arrangements and handles all administrative duties for WARDJet.

Dan Husk, Technical Service/Service Technician
Associates degree in Business Management and Administration
Certificate of Automotive Technology

Dan has been with WARDJet since June of 2004. His main focus is assisting customers with technical service and support. He is also involved in product development, machine building, and fabrication.