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ATI's Catherine Morris Becomes First Woman Chair of the Robotic Industries Association
Spreading the Automation Message for Future Economic Growth
Apex, NC,
July 27, 2012
 Catherine Morris, Director of Automotive Sales
for ATI Industrial Automation, has been named the first woman Chair of Robotic
Industries Association (RIA), the industry trade group representing more than
291 companies involved in robotics in North America. Morris becomes RIA’s 20th
Chair since its founding in 1974, succeeding Dean Elkins of Yaskawa Motoman,
who served as Chair in 2010 and 2011. Elkins remains on the RIA Board as Past
Chair.
Ms. Morris was first elected to the RIA Board in
2003 and most recently served as the Board’s First Vice Chair. She is a Past
Chair and current member of the RIA Membership Committee and also chairs the
show committee for Automate 2013, RIA’s flagship event. She has been with ATI
for 17 years, with a primary focus on key OEMs and automotive customers. In
addition to being RIA’s first woman Chair, she also is the first to represent a
robotic end-effector company. Previous Chairs have either represented robot
manufacturer or system integrator companies.
“I
hope to bring a new perspective and energy to the Chair role,” said Morris.
“I’m passionate about robotics and know that automation is the key to our
country’s future economic success. My primary focus as Chair will be to expand
the Automate 2013 trade show and conference in order to spread the message
about why and how companies can benefit by automating. Automate will be THE
SHOW for attendees to see the latest automation technologies in action, while
learning how automation can increase their productivity and competitiveness.”
“Additionally,
I will focus on making our new Certified Robotic Integrator program a success.
This will have enormous benefit to integrators and end-users alike and will
lead to more successful automation systems. Since the program’s launch, seven integrators have become RIA certified,
with many more to come.”
“Finally,
I will focus on strengthening the links between RIA and the educational
community. In order to get students excited about robotics and automation and prepare
them for future career opportunities, RIA will work more closely with community
colleges and universities that offer automation courses. As part of continuing education, RIA is
providing a series of free educational webinars covering a variety of automation
topics,” said Morris.
“I
am truly honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by my mentors and
peers and will do my best to lead our industry forward. I want companies of all
types and sizes to recognize the importance of being a vital part of their
industry’s trade association. Our association can only be as strong as we make
it. Spreading the automation message will grow business for all of us,” Morris
explained.
Morris and Past Chair Elkins are joined on the RIA Executive Committee by First
Vice Chair Stu Shepherd of KUKA Robotics, Second Vice Chair John Dulchinos of
Adept Technology, Secretary Curtis Richardson of Spirit AeroSystems, and RIA
President Jeff Burnstein.
The RIA Board is comprised of 19 industry leaders. Re-elected to new two year
terms for 2012-13 are Joe Campbell of ABB Robotics, Mick Estes of FANUC
Robotics America, and Michael Jacobs of Applied Manufacturing Technologies. Tom
Tobin of Comau was elected to his first two-year term.
Founded in 1974, RIA’s 265 member organizations include leading robot
manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end-users, community
colleges and universities, research groups, and consulting firms. RIA is
best-known for developing the ANSI/RIA National Robot Safety Standard, collecting
quarterly statistics on the North American robotics market, sponsoring the
biennial Automate show and conference, hosting the annual Robotics Industry
Forum, and producing Robotics Online, the world’s leading resource for robotics
information.
For more information visit the web site of the Robotic Industries Association.
More
information on the Automate 2013 show here.
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