Dalton–The Manufacturing Institute will award Shaw Industries’ Kim Seijo, business intelligence and MDM (product domain) director; LaRuthie Mason, START industrial maintenance training manager; and Erika Swartz, senior process engineer with the Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Award. The STEP Awards honor women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry.
Seijo and Mason are among the 100 recipients to be recognized as honorees and Swartz is among the 30 emerging leaders selected. The winners of this year’s award were selected among hundreds of applicants from numerous manufacturers across the country reflecting a diversity of manufacturing sectors and positions.
“These 130 women are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing,” said Jennifer McNelly, executive director, The Manufacturing Institute. “We chose to honor these women because they each made significant achievements in manufacturing through positive impact on their company and the industry as a whole. “The STEP Ahead Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative, launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and leadership for attracting, advancing, and retaining strong female talent.”
Seijo was selected for the positive impact she has made within Shaw through the use of data to make better business decisions; Mason was selected for her leadership in preparing associates for highly skilled positions through the START program and leading efforts related to the Shaw Maker Space; and, Swartz for her process improvements supporting the start-up of Shaw Evergreen Ringgold recycling facility, Shaw said.
“We are proud that the accomplishments of these women are not just recognized within our company, but also within the industry at-large,” said Vance Bell, CEO of Shaw Industries. “The diverse talents within our organization are well represented by this outstanding group of women.”
On April 21, The Manufacturing Institute will recognize the 130 recipients of the STEP Ahead Awards at a reception in Washington.