Juki Corporation (Tama Center – Tokyo, Japan) and Juki Automation Systems (Morrisville, NC) are pleased to announce that William D. (Bill) Astle has been promoted to President of Juki Automation Systems, Inc. effective immediately. Bill has been serving as General Manager of the company for the last three years. Robert J Black, Jr., former President and CEO, will remain with the company as CEO.
With over 30 years of experience in the electronics production field, Mr. Astle is a solid choice as the new leader of the company. Prior to his time with the company, he was General Manager of Koh Young USA and Product Manager for Agilent Technologies. “I can think of no one more qualified than Bill to follow me as President of Juki,” commented Bob Black. “His extensive experience in our industry and outstanding work ethic will allow him to guide our company to new heights. All of us at JAS are excited about this move.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to become President and help lead the continued success of Juki Automation Systems,” added Bill. “This company has been a great innovator and respected market leader for many years in the SMT market. With Bob’s great leadership, we have reached a stage where we are truly one of the world’s leading SMT solutions providers. Going forward, we will continue our forward design thinking. We’re inspired by our customers’ desires, and plan on delivering revolutionary new products in automation to meet their evolving needs. In addition, the company has always been given accolades for outstanding support. This tradition of providing the best customer experience possible will continue as we expand our line solutions portfolio.”
The company has also announced that Dave Frac is retiring and Andy Hirst will be taking his place as the new CFO of the company.
Mr. Frac retires after more than 40 years in finances, starting his career as a certified public accountant, working his way up the corporate ladder to CFO of Camelot Inc. in 1993. He joined the company in 1999 as CFO and VP Operations, handling all financial functions for both the US and European operating companies, plus operations (logistics, procurement, inside sales) for the US.
“I am excited to see Andy step into the role that I have held for many years,” commented Dave. “He will bring new ideas and a different approach to this important role, and I am sure he will be very successful in his new position.”
Mr. Andy Hirst holds an MBA from Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked in finance for 30 years. He has over 17 years of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry.
“I look forward to building upon the great work Dave has done over the last 17 years,” commented Mr. Hirst. “I plan to help Juki continue to meet and exceed customers’ expectations with new, exciting products and our continued level of high service. We will continue to strive to make the customers and stakeholders experience with the finance and operations group a great one as we continue to utilize the technology tools at our disposal to improve our supply chain operations.”
