29th March 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AGMA Presents Lifetime Achievement Awards to Bipin and Linda Doshi at 2012 Annual Meeting
Alexandria, VA (March 17, 2012) – The American Gear Manufacturers Association announced today 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 Doshi 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.”
About AGMA
Founded in 1916, AGMA is a member- and market-driven organization, conducting programs and providing services to the gear industry and its customers. As a voluntary association of companies, consultants and academicians with a direct interest in the design, manufacture, and application of gears and flexible couplings, our mission is to help members compete more effectively in today’s global marketplace.
For more information or photos, please contact Jenny Blackford, Director of Marketing & Communications at 703.838.0054 or by e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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Steve McCormick