Brian Papke, former chairman and current executive advisor to the board of Mazak Corp., has received the prestigious Al Moore Award for his lifetime of dedication to the manufacturing industry.
The award was bestowed by the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT) during the MFG meeting and MTForecast event in Denver, CO. earlier this month.
Papke’s long and distinguished career in the machine tool industry began after his graduation from the University of Illinois. He entered the industry in a management training program, and then progressed through various sales and management positions, eventually becoming president of Mazak. In 2016, after 29 years of service with Mazak, he was named chairman.
While at Mazak, Papke worked on establishing a lean production-on-demand approach to manufacturing, implementation of the industry’s first digitally connected Mazak iSMART Factory, an all-encompassing customer support program and a unique network of eight Technology Centers and five Technical Centers across North America, anchored by a National Technology Center in Florence, Kentucky.
He has also been involved with numerous trade association committees and served on the AMT Board of Directors and on the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA). He is also a current member on the board of Gardner Business Media.
In his current capacity, Papke has continued to push for the development of hybrid manufacturing technology, spearheading several important collaboration agreements to move the technology forward.
“I am truly honored to receive this incredible award,” said Papke. “I consider myself lucky to be part of the industry and am extremely grateful for the friendships I’ve made along the way with those individuals who supported and believed in me and who shared my passion for the manufacturing industry, machine tools and Mazak.”