P
eggy keeps the TransAdvantage team in line on a daily basis, but she does it with a smile. With strengths in a variety of areas, Peggy continuously adds new talents and abilities to her job description as Administrative Assistant. She provides support on a daily basis to the entire team and is willing to assist on any project (and never forgets an employee's birthday!). When Peggy isn't managing schedules at the office, she is coordinating schedules at home for the family and cheering for her son on the sidelines of his basketball games.
eggy keeps the TransAdvantage team in line on a daily basis, but she does it with a smile. With strengths in a variety of areas, Peggy continuously adds new talents and abilities to her job description as Administrative Assistant. She provides support on a daily basis to the entire team and is willing to assist on any project (and never forgets an employee's birthday!). When Peggy isn't managing schedules at the office, she is coordinating schedules at home for the family and cheering for her son on the sidelines of his basketball games.
Donald B. Springer joins TransAdvantage in the distinguished role of a Senior Consultant and close associate. Though less engaged in day-to-day operations since his retirement as President & CEO of Phoenix Contact, Inc., he continues to make his vast market experience and exceptional business acumen, along with his extensive network of industry contacts available to our domestic and international clients. He serves on select boards and is available to consult with top management of major industrial automation companies, who often cherish his objective advice which emanates from decades of solving challenging issues with both the German (parent) organization and the North American (subsidiary’s) perspective, and the background of having built one of the most successful US operations of a global industry leader and one of Germany’s “hidden champions” from scratch.A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Don's business career began at the 3M Corporation in Washington, DC, and subsequently joined AMP lnc., where he held numerous sales and marketing positions including Marketing Director. In that capacity he was responsible for leading the company into many new innovative and high technology products and markets.
In 1981he founded the US operations of Phoenix Contact Inc. Under his exceptional leadership, the company grew from the initial 5 employees to the undisputed market leader for connectivity solutions in North America with more than 650 associates, sales in well in the 9-digits and a continental network of sales operations. The modest 7,000 sq. ft. of rented office space has grown to an impressive 450,000 sq. ft. office, manufacturing and warehouse campus in Harrisburg, PA, which also incorporates Phoenix Contact Manufacturing, Inc., the US production arm established under Don’s governance. Few other German Mittelstand companies can point to a comparable success story - largely founded on trust and mutual respect on both sides of the Atlantic, the intricate understanding of cultural strengths, and the ability to blend of the unique values of exceptional German technology with American creativity, drive and innovative approaches to revolutionize an antiquated market.
Since his retirement, Don has been very active in numerous business consulting and advisory roles, and his ongoing activities in the business community, the automation and electric/electronic industry, as well as his charitable and philanthropic involvements are too numerous to list here. He enjoys the prospect of sharing his extensive knowledge, staying very engaged by making a significant difference for many aspiring entities.
Contact Don directly:
Cell: +1.717. 574.0134
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Perhaps rather unique in today’s business environment, Jochen Kortmann combines exceptional technical competence and intimate market knowledge of the industrial automation industry with first hand executive management experience as CEO of a significant technology company. Graduating as Dipl. Ing. (MS) in Information Technology from the prestigious RWTH in Aachen, Germany, he started his career at the Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn, followed by an engagement at the leading engineering firm Klöckner Humboldt Deutz, where he began his focus on industrial automation in automotive and other large manufacturing processes. Subsequently departing the environment of large corporate entities in favor of the more dynamic and exciting world of the Mittelstand, leading the spin-off of the industrial automation division of a significant regional service provider to what today is known as KSV Koblenzer Steuerungs- und Verteilungsbau GmbH, recognized as a leader in automation technology, engineering and system integration.In addition to exceptional expertise in all aspects of industrial automation and, naturally the associated systems integration, KSV’s core competencies are focused on power distribution, building automation, optical controls and process engineering. Jochen has successfully led the organization from humble beginnings to a leading solutions provider employing more than 120 engineers and technicians with above average growth and profitability. In 1997, he acquired the company together with a partner in the course of a management-buy-out and – through 2014 - is transferring his ownership position to the next generation to preserve the company’s cherished and respected status as a family owned and operated entity.
Jochen has been a TransAdvantage team member since 2013 where he is primarily responsible for the cooperation with the German parent organizations of our clients. In addition, he coordinates project management responsibilities with the European subsidiaries of our US customers and manages many of the group’s relationships with external partners and support institutions in Germany. His unique competence in your specific market segments, his intrinsic technical understanding of your application environment, his business acumen, and not least his very successful personal experience in growing a family-owned business to a distinct leadership position in your industry enable him to ideally relate to the associated opportunities and challenges in your domestic and international markets. He is a pragmatist and applies the same principle to his work with our clients. Obviously, he shares our passion for the Mittelstand-values and our enthusiasm for the superior German technology in industrial automation. You will find him to be objective, neutral and independent, yet not apprehensive to openly, internally address criticism or objections. At the same time, he eagerly shares your passion for your product or service, and your insatiable drive for success.
Complimenting his work at TA, Jochen engages directly as enabler and navigator for entrepreneurs, technology driven start-ups, and family-owned companies; he continues to advise his partners at KSV, is very active in numerous European business associations and corporate boards, as well as charitable organizations. You might find these commitments to represent interesting contacts – see more in his detailed CV or at jochenkortmann.de
Contact Jochen directly:
Cell: +49.171.271.3599
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Susanna Miles has lived and commuted between the United States and Germany for decades now and still has family living in the beautiful areas of Franconia Germany. Brought up in the environment of a family-owned business, dinner conversations centered on customers, employees, jobs, and real world problem solutions. Within TransAdvantage, she manages individual client projects and facilitates sophisticated translation and product localization programs.She received a quality college prep education in Germany with a concentration in sciences, social studies and advanced mathematics. Her first years in the US were spent as a small business owner and co-manager of a residential wiring company. 10 years of airline industry followed taking care of executive accounts with all the experiences of call centers, customer service delivery and on-time performance.
This experience substantially benefited her subsequent employment with Rittal, the international electronic packaging company here in the US. Her US education in Business Management Technologies, experience in the transportation industry and German language skills were essential to successfully perform the critical role of international purchasing coordinator, sourcing and procuring manufacturing components for the company’s domestic production facilities. In the course of that responsibility, Susanna acquired in-extensive expertise of the application environment and in-depth technical understanding of engineering issues and operations. She subsequently transferred to the company’s marketing department where she managed product adaptation, German-English translation of all communication materials, incl. the more than 1,000page product handbook and many other CI elements.
In 2000 she elected to start her own translation business, specializing in complex industrial and technically challenging translations for clients such as Rittal, ePlan, Suarez Enterprises and many others. She is a member of NOTA, the Northern Ohio Translator Association as well as the ata on a national level. Staying current in the industry's trends is important to her. In her work, she becomes an intricate part of the marketing team to create quality documents, using the industry's state of the art software. As a member of the TA team since 2013, she is excited to assist European companies to gain a foothold here in the USA, facilitating their globalization efforts and product localization.
Contact Susanne Miles directly:
Cell: +1.937.830-3693
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Craig Steffen has been assisting technology companies with strategy and product commercialization for more than 25 years. He brings broad technology experience to the TransAdvantage team having assisted clients to successfully commercialize innovative technologies in healthcare, environmental, software, energy, aerospace, sports and several other major markets.As an experienced entrepreneur, Craig has also started and operated five businesses and, therefore, knows the challenges of start-up strategies and operations first hand.
Having been raised on a farm in Iowa and having traveled extensively as an adult, Craig has a reputation for being comfortable with people from many different cultures and walks-of-life. He’s a true people-person who is as interested in you personally as in the goals you’re trying to achieve. He has led many negotiations for clients and employers who wish to establish Joint Ventures, Patent License Agreements, Joint Commercialization Agreements and Distribution Agreements and has done so in a manner that preserves the quality of the long-term relationships of domestic and international principles. For the past ten years, Craig has utilized these skills as a contractor to assist in Technology Transfer into and out-of USA Federal Department of Defense Laboratories.
Craig earned a Master’s Degree in Management from The McGregor School of Antioch University and has spent his career leading strategic marketing efforts for mid-sized companies. Most of his work has been alongside Scientists and Engineers. Because of his unique experiences, he has frequently been a guest lecturer in engineering classes teaching these students the fundamentals of marketing and product development from a business perspective. For more than seven years, Craig has been an Adjunct Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University teaching International Business, Strategic Marketing, Strategic Management, Operations Management and Organizational Development to MBA students. Within the TA team, Craig focuses on strategy development, market research and technology transfer issues on behalf of our clients.
Contact Craig directly:
Cell: +1.937.603.7282
