Board Members

Lucas Karabin
Lucas KarabinPresident
lkarabin@acmemonaco.com

Lucas Karabin

Co- President – ACME Monaco

Lucas Karabin began his career at Acme Monaco Corporation in June of 2004 and was part time since 1994.  Lucas currently holds the position of Co-President.   He graduated from Bryant University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2002.  He is a board member for Precision Metalforming Association, Southern New England District as well as a volunteer (since 2006) with Junior Achievement, a nonprofit program that teaches skills in understanding business and money concepts in classroom activities.  In his free time, Lucas enjoys his memberships with the Bristol Fish and Game Club and Shuttle Meadow Country Club.

David Devoe
David DevoeVice President
sales@plymouthspring.com

David Devoe

Plymouth Spring Company, Inc.

Allen Nadeau
Allen NadeauSecretary
Allen.Nadeau@stmc.com

Allen Nadeau

Principal – Supervisor – Southington Tool & Mfg Corp.

I am a 54 year old happily married male with a fantastic wife and adult son. I am a partner in a small manufacturing company in Plantsville, CT that mostly produces device components for the medical industry. In my chief role with the company I work with mostly entry level positions. It is my passion to develop the individuals filling these positions to allow them to advance their roles in our company.

Ted Lucas
Ted LucasTreasurer
ted.lucas@marcumllp.com

Ted Lucas

CPA – Marcum LLP

Ted Lucas is a partner in the Firm’s Hartford, Connecticut office. He has 20 years of experience conducting and performing audits and reviews for both publicly traded and privately held companies in the technology, manufacturing, retail, real estate, construction, and alternative energy industries, and clients with complex equity arrangements. In addition to the above industries, Mr. Lucas performs numerous audits of employee benefit plans.

Mr. Lucas has extensive experience with reporting requirements for publicly traded companies on both the US and Toronto exchanges which include audits reported under both US GAAP and IFRS. Filings include comfort letters, registration statements, initial public offerings, and Forms 10-Q and 10-K. He has conducted both internal and external projects for Sarbanes-Oxley compliant filers. Mr. Lucas’s experience includes significant audit services for international  companies.

His current and past client base includes clients with operations in Canada, UK, Israel, Singapore, Slovenia, Mexico, China and India.

Markus Arnold
Markus ArnoldWAFIOS Machinery Corp.
markusa@wafios.us

Markus Arnold

President – WAFIOS Machinery Corporation

Ryan Cutter
Ryan CutterFENN LLC
ryan.cutter@fenn-torin.com

Ryan Cutter

President FENN Torin Corporation

Born in Athol MA, Ryan attended the University of Hartford where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.  He began working in manufacturing through several internships and made central Connecticut his home after graduation.  Ryan has held various engineering and management rolls with The Stanley Works, Parker Hannifin, United Technologies, BHS Torin, and FENN.  Ryan was promoted from Chief Engineer to President of FENN in 2016.

Thomas O. Barnes, Jr.
Thomas O. Barnes, Jr.Riverside Investments
Tom@RiversideAdvisor.com

Thomas O. Barnes, Jr.

President – Riverside Investments

Thomas O. Barnes Jr. founded Riverside Investment Services in 2006 after beginning his career as a financial advisor in 1999.  Tom is affiliated with Securities of America to provide brokerage and investment services and holds the Series 7, 65, 63, 24 and the CT Insurance License for Health and Life Insurance.  As an advisor, Tom provides his clients a personal touch when it comes to creating sound personal finance strategies and creating and achieving long-term personal financial goals as well as wealth management services.  Riverside Investment Services also provides employer sponsored retirement plan advice to both employers and employees.

Tom is a Bristol, CT native dedicated to his community.  Tom has been the elected City Treasurer of Bristol since 2011.  Tom currently serves as the Chairman of the City of Bristol Retirement Board to direct the investment policy and allocation of the City’s $600 million pension funds.   Tom is a Member and Ex-Officio of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce. Tom is currently serving on Connecticut Retirement Security Board, which is exploring options to help improve the retirement options for residents in the state of Connecticut.   He has also held a seat as an Advisor for the State of Connecticut Investment Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2013.  Tom has served as Board President of the Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut as well as a member of the Bristol Rotary Club.  Tom is a member of the Bristol Boy’s and Girl’s Club’s Development committee.

Tom is a graduate of Renbrook School in West Hartford CT, Brooks School in North Andover MA, and the University of Montana.  Tom currently resides in Bristol, CT with his wife, Emily, and three daughters Lilly, Aubrey, and Ashley.

Kara Bosse
Kara BosseMW Components
kbosse@mwcomponents.com

Kara Bosse

Chief Sales Officer – MW Components

As a leader of the sales team, Kara focuses on driving year-over-year growth through new product development, cross-selling, and growing share with existing customers. Kara and her team are a key proponent of the remarkable customer experience MW endeavors to deliver to all customers. They find unique solutions to everyday problems and assist in the creation of repeatable, robust designs that perform in the most exacting applications. Kara has supported MW’s growth for nearly a decade, managing sales operations and strategic account teams across MW’s nationwide footprint. On weekends you’ll find Kara on trail runs, spending time with family, or learning new skills such as the art of Italian cooking. With over 10 years of experience in the spring industry, Kara, a Bristol native, is married, and passionate about leading teams. She is excited to join NESMA to foster the next generation of manufacturing talent in New England.

Ryan Cei
Ryan CeiRadcliff Wire Inc.
sales@radcliffwire.com

Ryan Cei

Radcliff Wire Inc.

John Higginbotham
John HigginbothamRowley Spring & Stamping Corp.
johnh@rowleyspring.com

John Higginbotham

Rowley Spring & Stamping Corp.

Al Mangles
Al ManglesLee Spring Company
amangels@leespring.com

Al Mangels

Chief Technical Advisor – Lee Spring Company

Al Mangels is Chief Technical Advisor at Lee Spring Company, a global manufacturer of mechanical springs, wireforms and related products that has had is headquarters in Brooklyn since 1918.

Al started at Lee Spring in 1983 in production control, and during his thirty seven plus years there worked his way up through manufacturing engineering, design engineering and management system integration until ultimately serving as President from 1999 until his semi-retirement in 2019.

During his career, Al has become well versed as a champion of continual improvement activities such as total quality management, lean manufacturing and business process re-engineering, and has seen the company grow internationally to seven facilities in the United States as well as locations in the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, India and Germany.

Al is a member of the SMI Technical Committee, on the Board of Directors of the Industrial Technology Assistance Corporation (NYC NIST MEP), a member of the New York District Export Council, on the Executive Board of the Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Council of New York City and a member of the Bristol Technical Advisory Committee.

Bruce Massey
Bruce MasseyGibbs Interwire
brucem@interwiregroup.com

Bruce Massey

Vice President – Gibbs Interwire

Heather Rowe
Heather RoweISW
harowe@industeel.com

Heather Rowe

Account Manager Northeast – ISW

Heather’s career in the world of manufacturing began at an early age, having grown up on a small farm in Northwest, CT.  Her paternal grandfather, her father, and her late husband were all Engineers, and they taught her many invaluable skills…mostly about how things worked, and how to make them work.

Heather attended college in Vermont, and has pursued a career in advertising, marketing and sales.  She has more than 20 years of experience in B2B sales, calling on post-secondary schools, the Vo-Tech High School System of CT, and several national chains of private/career schools across the country.  Currently, Heather is the Northeast account manager at Industrial Steel & Wire.  Heather has served as a board member for the New England Private Career School Association (NEPCSA), as well as serving on the educational committee for seven years with the Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI).

Heather enjoys skiing, golf, anything on the water, and cooking.  She has two children, Onna (20), a junior at Connecticut College and Sam (17), a senior (and future Engineer) at North Branford High School.  She resides in Branford, CT and has most recently adopted a rescues kitten named Beans.

Andrea Tarantino
Andrea TarantinoNapcon Communications LLC
info@napcon-communications.com

Andrea Tarantino

Founder – Napcon Communications LLC

Born in 1974 in Naples, Italy Andrea moved to the US at the age of 26 and he has been living in Southington, CT since then. He graduated with great honors at Penn State University with a degree in Information Sciences and Technology. He founded Napcon Communications in 2006 continuing a career in the IT industry that started at the age of 18.

Throughout the years, Andrea increased his expertise and experience providing web design and marketing services with special attention to the latest industry trends and usability. His company has developed a strong presence in the Central CT area but he works closely with clients across the State, the Country and Europe.

He is involved with numerous non-profit organizations including the New Britain Community Foundation, from which he received the Champions Foundation Award in 2020, Southington Bread for Life, and PARC from which he was recognized with “Person of the Year” awards. Four years ago he joined NESMA as the exclusive marketing member and is committed to promoting manufacturing in CT.

Jake Youmans
Jake YoumansConnecticut Spring & Stamping
youj@ctspring.com

Jake Youmans

Connecticut Spring & Stamping

Jacob (Jake) Youmans began his career at Connecticut Spring & Stamping while still in high school, and he has no plans of leaving his family’s company. Jake earned his B.A. in Business and Psychology at Bryant University while continuing to work at CSS during school vacations and throughout the four summers.  During his first two years full-time, after having spent his early years in the Information Systems Department, Jake has worked alongside loyal and skilled colleagues in many departments to become as knowledgeable in as many facets of the manufacturing business as possible in preparation  for  possible management roles. Connecticut Spring is a leading international manufacturer of precision springs and metal shaped solutions that have been a strategic supplier of custom springs, progressive stampings, fine blanked stampings, machined components, and assemblies for nearly 80 years.

Gary McCoy
Gary McCoySMI Liason
gary@smihq.org

Gary McCoy – SMI Liasion

Spring Manufacturers Institute

Gary McCoy was named executive director of the Spring Manufacturers Association (SMI) on Dec. 1, 2022. Founded in 1933, SMI is an association of companies that manufacture springs and their associate suppliers. The members of SMI work together to meet the key issues of the industry worldwide: quality, materials, technology, government regulations. SMI provides many services, including a quarterly magazine, Springs, a variety of technical publications, spring design software, industry data, seminars, meetings, safety and regulatory compliance and technical assistance.

McCoy served as managing editor of Springs magazine from 2008 to 2023 and has more than 30 years of experience in marketing communications, public relations and association management. He started Fairway Communications in Elgin, Illinois in 2000 and ran his own marketing communications business until 2022 when he left to join SMI. Previously, he was the director of communications for the Automotive Service Industry Association and a former president of the Automotive Communications Council.

He earned a B.A. degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Iowa State University and holds the professional development designation of Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) from the University of the Aftermarket. In 2009, McCoy received the prestigious Northwood University Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award.