Interview: Roger Greenfield comes back home
Allow me to introduce you to Roger Greenfield. Roger has a long, successful career in the foundry industry. Few could compare. He is currently the General Sales Manager at the Minster, Ohio facility of The C.A. Lawton Co. gray and ductile iron foundry. Outside of work, Roger enjoys hunting, gardening, and fruit trees.
The beginning
Roger began his foundry career at The C.A. Lawton Co. in De Pere, Wisconsin. Over the course of 23 years, he worked in just about every department of the foundry. Roger was in production, production controls, estimating, sales, and marketing. Roger took pride in always striving to learn more about the foundry industry.
Roger saw an opportunity to take his career to the next level in 2005. He took a position in a Michigan foundry, where he served as Vice President. He says, “I capitalized on what I learned at Lawton, because of that, I had a really nice, strong career in the foundry industry.”
In 2009, Roger went to Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics, a foundry in Minster, Ohio. There he worked as the general manager of sales and marketing.
The experience
Roger says some of the most beneficial skills he learned over the years were in strategic selling. He was also part of the 3-year business plans in Michigan and Ohio. Because of his long career experience and his knowledge across all areas of the foundry, he has several hundred contacts and a well-respected reputation. Roger gives back to the foundry community by being open and willing to share what he has learned over the years.
The future
In July 2020, the private equity firm, Oakland Standard Company, expanded their iron foundries, by acquiring Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics. This foundry now operates under Oakland Standard’s specialty metals platform as a second location of The C.A. Lawton Co. The two foundries combined have 250 years’ experience. The Minster, OH facility is a 117-year-old foundry and the De Pere, Wisconsin foundry is a 141-year-old foundry.
Minster’s location offers gray and ductile castings up to 45,000 pounds, which will nearly double the manufacturing capacity of Lawton. These new abilities complement the current structure of Lawton. The Minster, Ohio location offers logistical benefits in a prime manufacturing center.
Roger said of this transition, “I’m pretty excited to come back home. I feel a sense of loyalty to come back to the Lawton family. Because they care so much about their family. I look forward to spending the end of my career back here and repay them for all they’ve done for me.”
Lawton’s continuous improvement commitment will benefit from the acquisition of this foundry as it will allow them to examine processes across all four foundries, share hundreds of years’ experiences, and implement best practices throughout.
Thank you, Roger, for sharing your wealth of experience with The C.A. Lawton Co. You’re one of the reasons we say, “Remarkable people, remarkable results.” And thank you, our blog readers, for taking the time to get to know Roger. We can’t wait to get to know you! Visit our contact page to get in touch with us today!