Chris Smith, vice-president of engineering for Sweet

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, U.S. — Chris Smith has been promoted to vice-president of engineering at the Sweet Manufacturing Co., the company announced on Aug. 22. 

Smith will become a member of the company’s leadership team and a company officer. In his new capacity, he will lead and coach the company’s engineering team members, new product development and equipment design, and ensure best practices are in place for safety, quality and productivity of engineering activities that will meet or exceed customer expectations and company performance goals, the company said. Smith also will work closely with both internal and external customers to provide appropriate equipment and project design and layout recommendations that will satisfy customer material handling requirements. Smith joined Sweet in October 2014 as the engineering manager.

“I look forward to Chris joining our corporate management team and am confident that he will continue to add value to our company and customers through his talent, knowledge, experience and expertise,” said Alicia Sweet Hupp, company president and chief executive officer.

Smith has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University.  He also has a professional engineer (PE) certification from the state of Ohio. His PE certification reinforces his professional achievement and experience within the engineering field and is a mark of high quality standards and workmanship, the company said. Additionally, Smith brings proficiency in SolidWorks, RISA3D, MATLAB and FEA, the company said. 

Smith has a broad background in engineering having previously served as a senior engineer, mechanical design engineer and engineering manager. In addition to his material handling equipment experience at Sweet, he has previous experience with an industry leader in the design and manufacture of suspended access systems for the industrial/commercial construction market.