Getting to Know Matt Lovelace
Arctos’ greatest strength is in its people — our knowledge, experience and dedication are what set us apart from the competition. Given that, it’s cause for celebration (and a blog post) whenever someone joins our team! Without further ado, here’s our conversation getting to know our new Bidding and Quoting Manager, Matt Lovelace. Welcome to the TyRex family, Matt.
Where have you worked previously?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a range of experiences, from big companies like GE to 3 person start-ups. I’ve found that while the size and speed of decision-making may be different, the mindset should stay the same — it’s a mindset to come in and make some changes. I’ve gotten to wear a lot of different hats due to all these experiences, so I love opportunities [like Arctos] where I can use all of that experience, like project management, purchasing, and talking our customers through their decisions around PCBAs.
I’m passionate about new product introductions and making process improvements. My area of focus at its heart is continuous improvement. That has taken a lot of different shapes and forms over the years, like Lean and Agile, but I approach each customer’s system uniquely, not as nails in need of an “Agile” hammer, if you will.
What drew you to the world of manufacturing?
I’ve been interested in manufacturing in general since I was young. My earliest memories of being introduced to manufacturing were through the “How It Gets Made” segments on Captain Kangaroo and it just grew from there, through college and into the management program at GE. I love the blend of art and science — turning basic movements into sequential processes that eventually lead to the product. (I still love watching the newer program, “How It’s Made,” as well.)
Do you have any specialties or areas of focus?
I’m passionate about new product introductions and making process improvements. My area of focus at its heart is continuous improvement. That has taken a lot of different shapes and forms over the years, like Lean and Agile, but I approach each customer’s system uniquely, not as nails in need of an “Agile” hammer, if you will.
What particularly excites you to come work at Arctos?
With every new job comes a new set of problems and challenges to tackle, in a good way. I especially love the jobs where there’s unspecified “room for improvement” — digging and finding those specific inconsistencies gets me excited to come to work every day. More customers means more systems, more data management and more ways to reduce errors and improve.
I was also struck and excited by the emphasis Arctos and the TyRex family places on 3D printing. Having the opportunity to learn more about this technology and adding another tool to help clients improve is a great prospect.
How has what you do changed over the last few years?
I’ve found that all the major systems a company may have — inventory management, revision control, finance, materials requirement planning — haven’t necessarily improved, but have gotten faster due to being online. That’s good because you’re seeing an increased demand to “fail fast,” especially in prototyping. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that all your systems “talk” so that there are no more islands of automation when it comes to sourcing and planning your product.
What types of projects do you find most interesting/rewarding?
It’s extremely rewarding to me when I’m able to fully grasp the needs of a client and drive costs down from there. An example I like to give is when I worked for a manufacturer that had 3 different contract manufacturers, each dealing in different volumes from a distributor. I was able to get all those orders bonded, lowering the part price across the 3 CM’s. It was a new way of business for everyone — the CM’s, the distributor, and my employer. Wins like that on top of other incremental improvements keep it interesting for me.
What are some things you wish the average person (or engineer, CTO, product designer) knew about your role?
Based on my job title alone you may think I only deal with purchasing, but that’s only one function of what I can do. It’s similar to Arctos as a whole — we can help you with configuration management, your PCBs and all the way up to project management. If a client’s willing to commit and partner with us, I can leverage my experience from decades of work and different roles to help every facet of their product development run smoothly.
