Tim Comerford
In 1998, the Comerford Consulting Group (CCG) was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, to assist manufacturers of technical products with technology transfer, product planning, marketing, and development. CCG has helped clients in Southern Ohio manage sales, marketing, and engineering projects; with particular emphasis on commercialization of SBIR projects. This involved work with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and with defense contractors to commercialize SBIR-derived software products that enabled direct programming of digital signal processors from
Simulink in MATLAB.
After relocating CCG to Rolla in 2004 and working with clients at Missouri S&T, Tim became Assistant Director of the Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies (CAMT) in February, 2005 and became Business Director of the CAMT Industrial Consortium in 2007. The Industrial Consortium was grown to 10 members with Boeing as the anchor member. In May, 2011, Tim partnered with Barry White, former Director of the Small Business Technology Development Center at Missouri S&T, to form Technology Business Group, LLC.
Prior to 1998, as Vice President of Engineering for Mercury Instruments, a Cincinnati manufacturer of measurement and communication instrumentation, Tim managed product development, engineering, quality assurance, and software development; and built an engineering department to develop a new line of laptop programmable electronic flow computers for the Natural Gas Industry, which became the overwhelming market leader and the industry standard of quality.
After earning a BSME from the University of Cincinnati, Tim sold industrial control instrumentation for Honeywell in Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis; then managed process instrumentation marketing for Rosemount (now Emerson Process Management) in Minneapolis and for Foxboro in Boston. A line of process transmitters Tim developed at Rosemount became such an industry game-changer that one now resides in the Smithsonian. Graduate studies in business included MBA programs at St. Louis University and at the University of Minnesota.
RESUME:
THOMAS R. (TIM) COMERFORD
Technology Business Group, LLC
10790 Greenlefe Drive, Rolla, MO 65401
timc@fidmail.com
(573) 578-7769
SUMMARY
Leadership experience in the Process Instrumentation and Control Industry, spanning Management, Engineering, Marketing, Operations, and Strategic Planning. In-depth experience as manager of product development, engineering, software development, product planning, sales, marketing, customer service, purchasing, and quality assurance provide a seasoned background for Consulting; with a record of solid accomplishments in building talented engineering and marketing departments, defining customer requirements, creating market-leader products, managing projects, and leading technology change across all functions of the company. This experience was broadened by University Research Program Management and Business Development; and is now helping client companies.
EXPERIENCE
TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS GROUP, LLC (Rolla, Missouri) 2011 – Present
COMERFORD CONSULTING GROUP (Cincinnati, Ohio and Rolla, Missouri) 1998 – Present Management and marketing consulting firms specializing in technology commercialization, which bring grant writing, product planning, marketing, and development expertise to manufacturers of technical products.
Principal
Completed projects involving grant writing, technical management, product evaluation, market assessment, and strategic business planning.
– Managed Sales and Marketing of software for a technical consulting company by partnering with major electronics and software companies, and by creating an International Distributor organization.
– Developed and managed initial implementation of a plan to restructure the engineering operation and integrate engineering systems for the Ohio and New England plants of an international supplier of paper carton handling machines. Recommended consolidation of core capabilities to reduce overhead and provide cash flow for desired expansion.
– Provided a marketing plan for an instrument manufacturer to increase sales by extending current product capability to meet identified industry requirements, by targeted advertising, and by expanding sales coverage in key locations.
– Managed product development projects for a leading manufacturer of automated dispensing machines enabling them to win a major contract by meeting California State requirements with a new design, fully certified, in a tight schedule against a competitor who was already qualified and written in.
– Represented and counseled former employer on industry and product issues.
– Organized, wrote, and submitted technical proposals; wrote business plans for small business clients.
RESUME:
MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Rolla, Missouri) 2005 – 2010
Business Director – Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies
Business development to expand the Center by adding funding partners. Established a fee-based Industrial Consortium to leverage federal funding that has grown to ten members. Administered Air Force research program involving 35 faculty members and 60 students and researchers.
MERCURY INSTRUMENTS, INC. (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1979 – 1998
A privately held developer and manufacturer of electronic and mechanical pressure, temperature, and volume recording and billing instruments used for large customer billing in the Natural Gas Industry.
Vice President, Engineering
Responsible for product definition, planning, design, and development; for software development; for overall product quality and reputation; and for managing product development, engineering, quality assurance, and software development groups. Important accomplishments included:
– Initiated and managed a major transition from mechanical chart recorders and totalizers to electronic and computer technology. Developed a line of microprocessor instrumentation which has become recognized as the overwhelming industry leader by two independent industry market surveys.
– Negotiated a strategic alliance with a telecommunication manufacturer, which provided remote system capability and facilitated initial electronic development.
– Through customer needs analysis and planning, created a product line which positioned Mercury as the industry leader in growth and market share while maintaining a continuous high level of profitability. Created a pricing formula which reflected the different cost structure for electronic instruments.
– In response to expressed customer needs, expanded these products with smaller, more economical models, with telephone communication capability, and with configuration and data collection software.
– Introduced major measurement innovation with linearity and ambient temperature characterization of pressure sensing, improving billing accuracy fourfold with electronic instruments.
– Expanded the Engineering Department from one engineer and five support personnel to ten engineers and five support personnel, while total employment remained constant, and instrument shipments tripled.
– Established industry standards through membership on the Transmission and Distribution Measurement Committees of the American Gas Association, as well as on the Measurement Technical Advisory Group of the Gas Research Institute. Several papers published in industry magazines and trade journals.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
University of Cincinnati
Tau Beta Pi, Hertz Engineering Scholarship
Top 10% of graduating class
Work study assignments at the Goss Company, Chicago, Illinois
and the General Electric Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
MBA Graduate Studies
St. Louis University and University of Minnesota
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Meramec Regional Development Corporation Board
National Defense Industrial Association
International Society of Automation
Gas Research Institute
Rotary Club
EARLY EXPERIENCE
THE FOXBORO COMPANY (Foxboro, Massachusetts)
A $500 million manufacturer of indicating, controlling and recording instruments and control systems for industrial process variables including pressure, temperature, flow, level, and chemical and physical composition.
Manager, Strategic Planning
Accountable for long-range corporate product and market planning. Responsibilities included coordination of product planning with technology and business planning; evaluation of market opportunities for new technologies; consulting with planning groups responsible for specific product lines. Accomplishments:
– Completed comprehensive analysis of the marine instrumentation market for reorganization of an acquisition.
Determined that the liquefied natural gas carrier market, which had projected rapid growth based on extrapolating prior growth, was actually saturated. Prevented investment in this market.
ROSEMOUNT, INC. (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Formerly a free-standing company, now part of Fisher-Rosemount, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emerson Electric, which manufactures electronic pressure, temperature, flow, and level instruments and develops computer-based process control systems.
Director of Product Planning and Development
Accountable for market evaluation, product definition, and development of process measurement and control products for domestic and international markets. Responsibilities included product planning, market research, product development, acquisitions, patents, and licensing. Major accomplishments were:
– Organized and staffed a Corporate Product Development function.
– Established product development programs for new measurement products.
Director – Marketing
Manager – Marketing
Senior Marketing Engineer
Marketing Engineer
Accountable for planning and implementation of profit and growth of process control products through a group of 17 marketing professionals. Responsibilities included product planning, pricing, forecasting, product literature, proposals, customer presentations, sales training, and contract administration. Important accomplishments:
– Led the team which developed and marketed a line of electronic pressure, level, and flow transmitters which have sold over two million units and remain today the recognized industry leader.
– Contributed to 50% annual growth with increasing profits.
– Attained a market leader position in electronic transmitters.
– Introduced Digital Process Control Systems.
– Expanded the department by establishing product and industry marketing functions, and a systems start-up and service group.
HONEYWELL, INC. (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania)
INDUSTRIAL DIVISION
Application Engineer (St. Louis, MO)
Sales Engineer (Indianapolis, IN)
Sales Engineer (Chicago, IL)