Straightpoint Inc. Welcomes Operations Manager

Straightpoint Inc. has named Myron Jones operations manager, as the former CEO of NMB Technologies joins the Camarillo, California-based load cell manufacturer.

Jones brings a wealth of experience from the electromechanical components and aerospace industries, but has most recently been consulting for Straightpoint’s strategic partner Group Four Transducers Inc., since retiring from full-time employment. Group Four was part of a consortium that developed the Running Line Dynamometer, a feature of Straightpoint’s tension in motion range.

Jones said: “I was with my previous employer for 25 years and felt it was time to retire at 65 years of age. But my brain was still active and I wanted part-time work to give my talents to a gazelle company with lots of upside potential. Straightpoint ticked those boxes.”

Straightpoint president David Ayling said: “Myron has huge experience in industry both in leadership and marketing positions. I am very open about our growth plans in North America and building a team of staff whose skill-sets complement each other is integral to that. Myron has been recruited with execution of that plan in mind.”

Jones joins John Molidor, the general manager and leader of the company’s U.S. subsidiary; Tressie LaBass, customer and sales support administrator; and Johnny Gonzalez, technician, at Camarillo headquarters, while Aaron Orsak, technical sales engineer, covers Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama from his Houston base.

Jones said: “I make their jobs easier by offloading some of their tasks and knowing how to sync company activities into a harmonious flow. I will do anything needed to make the company run smoother and in unison. My biggest near-term projects will be process mapping, charting the As Is processes and assisting in creating the Should Be.”

Voice of experience

Former marathon runner Jones will draw on two particular experiences at NMB, a Minebea Group Company, to inspire continued success in his new role. The first followed the Northridge earthquake that struck Los Angeles in 1994, when NMB’s 100,000 sq.-ft. building was red-tagged by the state.

He said: “We were not allowed to enter our facility and my house had suffered about $100k in damage. We mobilized, found a building 20 miles away and resumed business in seven days. We had to move $11m-worth of inventory from the site besides all the equipment needed to do business. It was an amazing feat and all the employees involved will remember the wonderful teamwork we demonstrated. That month turned out to be a record sales month.”

Myron Jones (left), Straightpoint Inc.’s new operations manager, with general manager John Molidor (center) and president David Ayling.

The second memorable experience, he said, was around 15 years ago when NMB was operating at about $300m in annual revenue and lost two elephant accounts, beyond the control of the company, which caused that revenue to drop by $100m.

Jones said: “Up to that point we had been growing around 22% per annum in sales. I decided to reinvent the company structure at headquarters into a cross-functional organization and redeploy field sales to target new business. It took around six months and was very painful but we came out of the restructure stronger and within two years we recovered the lost revenue.”

He added: “Just as David Ayling’s tagline is to make the lifting industry a safer place, I wanted to make NMB a wonderful place to work for employees where they felt appreciated and understood a clear company vision. I am blessed to have the benefit of this experience to apply to future challenges.”

Prior to NMB, Jones was marketing manager for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, a division of United Technologies. His career began at McDonnell Douglas Corporation (now Boeing) as an aerodynamics engineer. Jones holds a BS Degree in Engineering from Brigham Young University and a Master’s Degree in Marketing from West Coast University.