ArvinMeritor Honours Top Innovators

ArvinMeritor Inc. has named the winners of its 2002 Engineer of the Year and Manufacturing Engineer of the Year awards.
The awards recognize those engineers or scientists who have made significant and innovative technological contributions to ArvinMeritor, its customers and the automobile industry.
The annual award program also underscores the high value ArvinMeritor places on individual achievement and the professionalism of its employees.
Ed Eshelman, engineering supervisor for the Commercial Vehicle Systems business group based in Troy, Mich., has been named ArvinMeritor’s 2002 Engineer of the Year for his development of innovative vehicle simulation solutions for vehicle suspensions. Since joining ArvinMeritor in 1997, his efforts in advanced vehicle engineering have contributed to incremental sales of $10 million in original suspension designs. A patent-holder with several other patents pending, Eshelman earned both a bachelor and a master’s degree in engineering from Michigan State University.
He is an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and the Association of the U.S. Army, a group of suppliers to the military.
Randy Frye, manager, engineering equipment, at ArvinMeritor’s Fayetteville, N.C., Light Vehicle Aftermarket facility, is this year’s Manufacturing Engineer of the Year. He is recognized for the design and fabrication of automated equipment that includes inline quality checks and error proofing. As manager of the machine development group, Frye provides equipment solutions for automated assembly and testing from concept to fabrication, using in-house as well as vendor-supplied resources. His recent work has generated close to $6 million in annual savings to the company.
Frye joined the organization in 1986 as senior manufacturing engineer, a position in which he managed specific continuous improvement projects. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University.
“Ed and Randy exemplify the kind of commitment and leadership for which our engineering team is recognized by both their peers and our customers,” said Larry Yost, ArvinMeritor chairman and CEO.
“We are particularly proud of their achievements that help us more closely meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. Responding with technologically advanced solutions not only helps maintain customer loyalty, but also significantly helps solidify ArvinMeritor’s position as a leading innovator in the automotive supplier industry.”