Hypertherm Associate Erin Martin to receive leadership award for excellence in manufacturing

Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial cutting systemsand software, today announced the selection of Erin Martin, the company’s Reliability Engineering Leader, as a Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead honoree.

The STEP Ahead award, presented by The Manufacturing Institute, honors women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership throughout their careers. The institute plans to recognize Ms. Martin for outstanding work as a manufacturer, an employee, and a leader in her community, at an award ceremony this week in Washington, D.C.

“Companies across the U.S. agree there is a talent shortage in manufacturing. Through the STEP Ahead Awards, we hope to take another step toward closing this gap by highlighting the stories of successful women in manufacturing and giving them a platform to encourage other women to join the industry and be role models for the next generation,” said Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute. “The women being honored demonstrate what modern manufacturing careers are all about: making an impact in their communities with meaningful careers that offer significant opportunities for growth.”

The STEP Ahead Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative, launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry. The institute estimates STEP Ahead Award winners have impacted more than 300,000 individuals—from peers in the industry to school-aged children—during the last five years. Although women make up approximately 47 percent of the U.S. labor force, they comprise just 29 percent of the manufacturing workforce, making them one of manufacturing’s largest pools of untapped talent.

As the company’s Reliability Engineering Leader, Ms. Martin is responsible for implementing programs that allow Hypertherm to identify critical strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for key subcomponents well before product launch to protect Hypertherm’s customers and brand. In addition, her work includes comprehensive quantification for new product platforms that allow Hypertherm to validate the statistical confidence of its product reliability and long-term field performance far better than prior campaigns. Outside of Hypertherm, Ms. Martin is passionate about introducing middle and high school students to the possibilities of manufacturing as a member of Hypertherm’s SHAPE (Students and Hypertherm Associates Partnering in Education) for STEM program. By participating in events such as Girls Technology Day, Young Women in Engineering, and STEM for Freshman, she serves as a positive role model for dozens of students. In addition, she is an active member of Upper Valley Young Professionals, an organization that welcomes, supports, and works to advance the careers of other young professionals within the community.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures industrial cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes cutting systems, in addition to CNC motion and height controls, CAM nesting software, robotic software and consumables. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The company’s reputation for cutting innovation dates back 50 years to 1968, with Hypertherm’s invention of water injection plasma cutting. The 100 percent associate owned company has more than 1,400 associates along with operations and partner representation worldwide.