The American Gear Manufacturers Association recently announced that Bipin and Linda Doshi, of Schafer Gear Works, Inc. have been named the recipients of the AGMA Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is bestowed "to the rare individual or individuals who have demonstrated superior vision, leadership and dedication in advancing the gear industry and the American Gear Manufacturers Association." This is only the seventh time that the award has been presented in the Association's 96 year history.

Presenting the award in Bonita Springs, Florida, AGMA Chairman Matt Mondek commented, "Leadership is the lifeblood of an association like AGMA, and everyone should aspire to be like the couple that receives the AGMA Lifetime Achievement Awards tonight. Bipin and Linda Doshi have independently and together been major contributors to AGMA's transformation and growth over the last quarter century."

Schafer Gear joined AGMA in 1943 and was acquired by the Doshis in 1988. Immediately after the acquisition, Bipin, president of Schafer Gear and Linda, corporate secretary of Schafer Gear, began participating in AGMA's Annual Meeting, Marketing Council, Small Business Council and others.

In the early 1990s Bipin and two other members were leaders in the creation of the Training School for Gear Manufacturing. This one-week course blends theory with hands-on experience at the Daley College in Chicago. This course has been responsible for introducing hundreds of employees to the theory of gearing and has helped each one apply that knowledge by making a gear during the hands-on portion of the training. He received the Administrative Division Executive Committee Award in 1994 for his leadership in education programs.

In 1994, Bipin joined the AGMA Board of Directors and served as Chairman of the Association from 1999 to 2000. In that role, in addition to his advocacy for improving AGMA's education offerings, and creating useful statistical reports for benchmarking gear companies against the rest of the industry. Subsequently, Bipin has served as a Trustee to the AGMA Foundation and currently serves as the Foundation's Treasurer.

While Bipin has been very active in AGMA, Linda has been just as active in the industry and with the AGMA Foundation. Linda has been instrumental in Schafer Gear's involvement in AGMA. Linda served two terms on the AGMA Foundation's Board of Trustees, from 1997 to 2004. She was elected Chair of the Foundation from 2002 to 2004. Under her leadership, the Foundation sponsored the development of the three on-line courses for worker training. These courses are still used a decade later as the introduction for many to the gearing industry.

Linda also led the search for a new Executive Director for the Foundation and worked closely with the new executive director for a successful transition. She worked with the Gear Research Institute to develop a Visioning and Road-mapping Workshop to look at the major forces affecting the industry in the coming decade. During her administration, the Trustees revised the Foundation's Research Grant Guidelines to incorporate considerations for intellectual property, and the Foundation made its first international research grant to the University of Aachen in Germany.  More recently, Linda played important roles in delegations to Italy in 2008 and the first International Business Conference in Budapest, Hungary in 2011.

In their personal lives they are both highly involved in their local community in South Bend, Indiana chairing several boards of philanthropic organizations. Linda is the past president of the Center for History; a past board member of the Penn Harris Madison school foundation board; a current board member of the South Bend Century center; a board member of the South Bend Community Foundation and a board member of the Mishawaka public library.

Bipin is a board member for the local South Bend Memorial Hospital; He served as chairman of the board in 2006 and 2007. He continues to serve on the board and has chaired several committees. Bipin is also is very active with his alma mater, the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy).

AGMA Chairman Matt Mondek commented, "Fortunately, after decades of volunteering on behalf of AGMA and the AGMA Foundation, and many years of helping improve AGMA for the benefit of all members and there is no sign the Doshi's plan to stop."

Two additional AGMA leaders were honored during AGMA's 2012 Annual Meeting, held March 15-17 in Bonita Springs, Florida.  Sulaiman Jamal, managing director of Bevel Gears India was awarded the AGMA Chairman's Award; and Rustin Mikel, vice president of operations for Forest City Gear, was awarded the Next Generation Award.

Chairman's Award

Earlier in February 2012, AGMA held a trade delegation to India.  The group of 18 individuals traveled about 2,000 miles in five days - visiting seven cities, seven companies and one coffee plantation. According to AGMA executives, this trip would not have been possible without the help of Jamal. He is a member of the AGMA board of directors and one of the reasons AGMA has more members in India than any country outside of North America. He was instrumental in the creation of the International Power Transmission EXposition which opened in Mumbai two years ago and again this February. He was part of the advisory group that developed the program for AGMA's first International Business Conference. To recognize his leadership and hands-on assistance with AGMA's activities internationally and especially in India, he was presented with the Chairman's Award.

Next Generation Award

As everyone in the gear industry knows, finding talented individuals to move up the ranks and take on leadership positions is critical to the continued success of any company.  This is just as important for organizations like AGMA and ABMA. 

AGMA's Next Generation Award honors individuals who are emerging as contributors, innovators, and leaders in the gear industry and serves as an incentive for others in the next generation of gear industry talent.

The AGMA board of directors chose one such talented individual who is very active in AGMA, Rustin Mikel, vice president of operations for Forest City Gear, to receive the 2012 Next Generation Award. In the six short years since Mikel has joined the gear industry and Forest City Gear, he has become very active within AGMA as a leader of both the Strategic Resources Network and the Annual Meeting Planning Committee.  

He has demonstrated significant leadership skills guiding the members of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee over the last three years. He has kept the group on target and engaged as they brainstorm ideas for speakers and events for the Annual Meetings, and also worked with the staff of AGMA and ABMA to execute the committee's ideas. He has taken time away from his young family, copious duties at Forest City Gear, and his studies for his MBA to guarantee the success of the combined annual meeting the last few years.

In addition to his duties as Annual Committee Chair, he was instrumental in the formation of AGMA's Strategic Resources Network, a group of younger industry executives who promote professional development opportunities and networking within the gear industry. And for this Annual Meeting he married his involvement with the SRN with his duties as Annual Meeting chairman, gathering a dozen of his SRN colleagues together to help sponsor the Capitol Steps. Mikel was assisted in this effort by last year's Next Generation Award winner, Cory Sanderson from Koepfer America. He has been a willing participant in many other AGMA endeavors.