“One of the largest mill implementations in Panther’s history was also among our smoothest,” Rich Gillespie, Vice President Panther Systems
Vancouver, WA – Panther Systems, provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions and quality control systems, announced the hiring of Rich Gillespie as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Gillespie joins Panther’s executive team to play a lead role in managing corporate relationships and worldwide sales for the Washington-based software and engineering company. His role includes streamlining and improving Panther’s sales channel. His effort is part of an ambitious strategy to build on 25 years of Panther service and innovation.
“Rich is a veteran sales manager and exceptional leader,” said Larry Foltz, President and CEO of Panther Systems. “He is personable, intelligent, hardworking and the right person to develop our relationships with our customers’ leadership. He is prepared to direct Panther’s sales and marketing efforts in North America and beyond.”
Rich earned a Master of Science (MS) in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University. Gillespie is returning to his hometown of Vancouver, Washington, where Panther is headquartered.
Rich and his wife are raising five children and are dedicated volunteers in their church and community.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp, paper and nonwovens experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence and process control solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful software tools, used in pulp, paper and nonwovens manufacturing to manage orders, production, quality and communication. Panther QCS includes advanced machine-direction and cross-direction quality control and automation solutions. The company offers TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer to record, query and analyze data from manufacturing execution systems, continuous process variables, scanners, vision systems, discrete lab test data and relational databases. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
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Media inquiries: Contact Panther Systems, Attention Dan Schott
Vancouver, WA – Panther Systems, provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions and quality control systems, announced the hiring of Nick Mace as Junior Process Control Specialist.
Mace joins Panther’s Professional Services team of engineers and technicians, which designs, installs and services quality control systems and other paper machine instrumentation and automation, including inline scanners, gauges, controllers and interfaces.
“We’re looking forward to what Nick Mace will bring to Professional Services at Panther,” said Ron Allworth, Professional Services Manager. “Nick is knowledgeable, and he understands the priorities of our customers.”
Nick graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Bioresource Science and Engineering and was part of the school’s paper-making program. He brings his experience of working Norpac’s paper mill in Longview, Washington, where he troubleshooted computer programs, supported mill trials and calibrated and tested gauges and sensors. Mace is based at Panther’s headquarters in Vancouver, Washington.
A native of Washington state, Mace was literally born into the pulp and paper industry. Nick’s mother is a process engineer at Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a liquid packaging board mill in Longview, Washington. His brother is a clarifier operator, and other members of his family are employed in pulp and paper.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp and paper experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful purpose-specific software tools, used throughout the pulp and paper industry to manage orders and track products from office to mill floor to loading dock. The company’s other offerings include TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer for paper laboratories, Panther QCS and Panther Dashboards. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
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Media inquiries: Contact Panther Systems, Attention Dan Schott
The best prognosticators do valuable work by imagining what paper mills and converting facilities will face in years to come. They help the pulp and paper industry look and plan ahead. They are the lifeguards, who know how to read the water. Their trained eyes know riptide conditions when they see them and recognize the precursors to a tsunami. Alas, there is no crystal ball, no divining rod and no Moses inside pulp and paper.
Instead, paper mills rely on the knowledge of current processes, emerging technologies and trending conditions to answer the big questions. Panther Systems has been hard at it, answering tough questions and helping customers find the best possible solutions to challenges.
What do you want to achieve?
Perhaps, it’s better said, “What should you make your priorities?” Maybe, you want to reduce your cost of making paper without demolishing old paper mills and starting over. Improving paper quality to acquire new business can be a tall order. But addressing the issue may be necessary for the future of your business.
How will you get there?
A plan may include a litany of to-do items, but high-level priorities and principles will drive your efforts. And after all, you need to keep making money.
You just can’t afford to do something — gotta do the right thing.
Paper mills and Panther must be more resourceful than ever
Panther Systems faces down similar challenges. We’ve been looking years down the road and asking ourselves the big questions. We’ve reached some conclusions, and we’re working a plan.
Being the industry’s manufacturing intelligence experts is a role our team take seriously. That means we need to remain in a position to do the most good for our customers. Panther provides powerful solutions like PantherQCS, MillTools and PantherHistorian with the knowledge that paper mills can’t afford missteps. Our customers have depended on us to help them be productive and profitable for 25 years, but we don’t take our success for granted.
The next 25 years will be nothing like the previous 25 years. Paper mills will need to be more resourceful than ever — and so will Panther.
Investing in the future of paper mills
Panther is moving swiftly to stay ahead of customers’ needs. We’re putting the pieces in place to help paper mills large and small to become masters over their manufacturing execution process, paper quality and paper machine control.
We’ve embarked on a series of ambitious initiatives to ensure that Panther remains in the best position possible to make real differences for paper mills during the next 25 years. Panther is leaving nothing to chance. We are leveraging new technologies to ensure the longevity of our solutions like MillTools and PantherQCS.
Panther is also adopting new systems internally to foster innovation. We’re refining our engineering processes. Upgrading our communication and expanding training for team members and paper mills are significant parts of our plans. We’re investing millions of dollars of our own capital to guarantee superior customer experiences for our paper mills.
Money well spent.
Your next level
Panther will be able to provide solutions in more countries than ever before. We’re adding multilingual features to PantherQCS, MillTools and PantherHistorian. We’re developing new versions of applicatons to function on servers, computers and mobile devices on future operating systems without worry for security, compatibility and obsolescence.
This herculean effort a lot of hard work and long hours. It’s spendy, but we’re all in. We see these steps as essential to the continued success of Panther Systems and the paper mills. It’s our future and yours. It’s how we reach the next level.
We’ll update you on our progress from time to time.
Vancouver, WA – Panther Systems, provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions and quality control systems, announced the hiring of Shaun McBurney as Junior Support Specialist.
McBurney joins Panther’s Support Services team, which provides technical support through Panther’s HelpDesk as well as training and post go live support for MillTools,
“Shaun is sharp and very interested in helping customers get the most from MillTools,” said Mark Schmidt, Support Services Manager at Panther Systems. “He has great communication and customer service skills. The fact that he is a fast learner doesn’t hurt either. He adds a lot to our team.”
McBurney is based at Panther’s headquarters in Vancouver, Washington.
Born in Berkley, California and raised Washington state, Shaun attended Gonzaga University and received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Given Gonzaga’s record, it’s no surprise he’s a basketball fan, but Shaun also makes time to mentor elementary school children who struggle with their schoolwork.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp and paper experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful purpose-specific software tools, used throughout the pulp and paper industry to manage orders and track products from office to mill floor to loading dock. The company’s other offerings include TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer for paper laboratories, Panther QCS and Panther Dashboards. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
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Media inquiries: Contact Panther Systems, Attention Dan Schott
Vancouver, WA – Panther Systems, provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions and quality control systems, announced the hiring of Steve Armistead as Senior Database Administrator (DBA).
Armistead rejoins Panther’s engineering team to administer Panther databases and data warehouses after many years in healthcare and telecommunications.
“Having Steve back is like striking the motherlode in terms of experience,” said Don Crain, Engineering Manager at Panther Systems. “He already knows our systems from end to end, and Steve returns to Panther with a lot of big data experience from other disciplines. As the value of data increases, Steve’s knowledge and experience will benefit our customers greatly in the pulp, paper, board and nonwovens.”
Born in the South and raised in Texas, Steve earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems from Texas A&M. He worked at Panther for 11 years, then left to expand his skills and understanding of data security, operational performance and stability, and process automation. Now, Armistead is based at Panther’s headquarters in Vancouver, Washington.
Steve and his wife have two adult sons and a granddaughter.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp and paper experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful purpose-specific software tools, used throughout the pulp and paper industry to manage orders and track products from office to mill floor to loading dock. The company’s other offerings include TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer for paper laboratories, Panther QCS and Panther Dashboards. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
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Media inquiries: Contact Panther Systems, Attention Dan Schott
Halltown, MI – OX Paperboard fired up MillTools at their paper mill in Halltown, West Virginia on May 22, 2017. The new manufacturing execution system (MES) replaces a manual system of scheduling and tracking paperboard production at the oldest continually operational manufacturing facility in West Virginia. Members of Panther Systems’ Go Live Team were on-hand to assist the OX’s core […]
Constantine, MI – OX Paperboard threw the switch on MillTools at their mill in Constantine, Michigan on April 24, 2017 to manage their manufacturing process, increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve communication internally and with customers.
Panther Systems’ Go Live Team was present as OX Michigan turned up its first reels and trimmed rolls of paperboard on the new system. The team lead by Support Services Manager Mark Schmidt were present to support and coach OX’s core team and users in the front office, lab, winding station and scale areas as well as the warehouse, loading docks and shipping office to make the smooth transition to MillTools.
The addition of MillTools helps OX’s office team create mill orders and schedule production against customer purchase orders, simultaneously sending properly branded customer communication in one easy step. This manufacturing execution system (MES) receives paper quality data from Panther’s machine and quality control systems; these systems were already online at the mill.
OX team members can turn up new reels and give backtenders information and instructions to increase productivity and reduce waste, while producing rolls against a paperless schedule of patterns inside MillTools. Roll data is applied to actuals, and MillTools generates TAPPI numbers and labels to create trackable shipping units. Users are able to move, locate and reconcile inventory at a glance.
MillTools provides powerful tools to plan loads and ship products to customers, creating a certificate of analysis and manifest. The office team can invoice, issue credit memos and interface with OX’s existing accounting software.
“MillTools now gives the folks here at OX Michigan greater visibility, control and reporting of process and products than ever before,” said Dan Schott, a Panther representative and member of the the company’s Go Live Team. “OX Michigan is already benefiting from the mill-configurable capabilities of this powerful suite of applications. The first daily production report from the system was impressive, and users from the front office to the mill floor on over to shipping echoed commentary like, ‘That’s less work than what we were doing before Panther went live.'”
OX Paperboard uses MillTools at mills in Pekin, Illinois and Constantine, Michigan. MillTools will go live at the company’s mill in Halltown, West Virginia in May 2017.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp and paper experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful purpose-specific software tools, used throughout the pulp and paper industry to manage orders and track products from office to mill floor to loading dock. The company’s other offerings include TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer for paper laboratories, Panther QCS and Panther Dashboards. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
Vancouver, WA – Panther Systems, provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions and quality control systems, announced the hiring of Ron Allworth as Manager of Professional Services.
Allworth oversees a team of engineers and technicians, which designs, installs and services quality control systems and other machine automation, including inline scanners, gauges, controllers and interfaces.
Ron is an a veteran engineer with decades of experience in electrical and mechanical engineering and extensive experience with machine controls, human-machine interfaces and quality control systems. He is based at Panther’s headquarters in Vancouver, Washington and manages projects wherever customers need Panther Professional Services. Allworth is no stranger to Panther. He worked many years at Panther and continued to contribute to the company’s success as a contractor before returning as a permanent team member in 2017.
Established in 1993, Panther Systems is heralded by pulp and paper experts as the leading provider of manufacturing intelligence solutions. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Panther Systems is known for MillTools, a suite of powerful purpose-specific software tools, used throughout the pulp and paper industry to manage orders and track products from office to mill floor to loading dock. The company’s other offerings include TestCentral and ProcessAnalyzer for paper laboratories, Panther QCS and Panther Dashboards. Visit panthersys.com for information or call 360-750-9783.
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Media inquiries: Contact Panther Systems, Attention Dan Schott
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