Our Staff

Curt joined North American Tool Corporation in 1988, and played a major role in the purchase of Gaylee in 1994. He was elected Vice President of North American Tool in April 1989; Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in April 1991; Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in April 1995; Executive Vice President in 1998; and was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of the company in April 2005. He has been involved in strategic planning in respect to lean manufacturing, streamlining of internal procedures, and organizational effectiveness. Curt has developed and implemented successful leadership training processes and human performance initiatives. Prior to joining the company, Curt was a successful business owner in Beloit, WI. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, majoring in Sociology.

Bernie joined North American Tool Corporation in May, 1993 as National Sales Manager, and was later elected Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and in April of 2001, was elected Senior Vice President of the company. Bernie has extensive national and international experience in cutting tool sales management, and oversees the sales and marketing efforts of Gaylee, as well as North American Tool. In 1994, Bernie was instrumental in bringing the Gaylee Corporation into the North American Tool family of quality cutting tool products. He has served on various industry committees, including the ISMA (Industrial Supply Manufacturers Association) Global Trade Committee to promote the export of industrial MROP products. Before joining North American Tool Corporation, Bernie spent more than 25 years with various major companies in the cutting tool industry including Weldon Tool Company, Carboloy Systems and Cleveland Twist Drill. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH with a BA in Humanities.

Jim will be responsible for developing and implementing operational strategies to strengthen and grow the manufacturing performance of Global Specialty Solutions Inc. companies North American Tool Corporation (South Beloit, IL), Gaylee Saws (Sterling Heights, MI), Bitner Tooling Technologies (Sterling Heights, MI), and Allen Benjamin Inc. (Mesa, AZ). He brings a wealth of relevant manufacturing and management experience to his position. Jim was previously a consultant with Ingenium Technologies, providing strategic, results-oriented productivity improvements to industrial manufacturers. He served as the Director of Manufacturing for the Turbine Systems Division of the Woodward Governor Company, a $1.5 Billion provider of energy control systems and components for aircraft and industrial engines and turbines, and was responsible for all manufacturing and facilities management.  Prior to that, Jim was appointed to management level manufacturing engineering positions at Hamilton Sundstrand and Honeywell Aerospace. Jim has a BS Engineering degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from Arizona State University. He has also completed several executive management level training programs in Six Sigma strategies, lean manufacturing principles and manufacturing process management.

Don is a veteran in the field of cutting tools and industrial circular saws, with 29 years of experience. Don is the General Manager at Gaylee Saws, and wears many hats, pitching in with customer service as well as shop floor duties when the need arises. His previous experience in Customer Service, as a machinist and a tool maker makes Don an integral part of the Gaylee team. His ability to listen and react to customer needs are a result of Don’s broad experience. Don has extensive training in CAD/CAM systems such as QuickCAD, Master CAM, and G-Code. As General Manager at Gaylee Saws, Don steers his leadership skills to a daily commitment of providing outstanding customer service, quality tools, and on-time shipments.

In his 23rd year at Gaylee Saws, Mike brings excellent customer service and technical skills to distributors and end user customers alike. Mike has had previous shop floor-machining experience which is invaluable when addressing customer needs and requirements. Mike’s commitment to service and quality is a true asset to Gaylee. For over two decades, Mike has earned the trust and confidence of Gaylee Saws customers through professionalism and technical knowledge. His vast experience in sawing applications has assisted innumerable customers over the years.