Ronald Massa to Head A. O. Smith Corporate Technology Group; Replaces Dr. Charles Bishop Who Announces Plans to Retire

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A. O. Smith Corporation today announced that Ronald E. Massa has been named executive vice president-corporate technology and global supply chain, effective Jan. 1.

Massa adds the responsibility for the company's Corporate Technology Group to his current duties overseeing A. O. Smith's global procurement and logistics activities. Massa replaces Dr. Charles J. Bishop, who will retire as senior vice president-corporate technology at the end of the year.

"Ron Massa will continue to foster A. O. Smith's spirit of innovation by leading Corporate Technology's product and process development initiatives and supporting the product engineering programs of our operating units," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul Jones said in making the announcement.

The A. O. Smith Corporate Technology Center, a 50,000 square foot research and test laboratory in Milwaukee, conducts advanced product and process engineering work with emphasis on electronics, advanced water heating technology, coatings and materials science, automation and process development.

Massa has held a number of executive management, engineering, and manufacturing assignments during his 30-year career with A. O. Smith Corporation. He has been an executive vice president of the corporation since January 2005, responsible for global supply procurement and logistics.

Prior to that assignment, Massa was president of the corporation's Water Products Company, one of North America's largest manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment, from 1999 until 2004.

He has held a number of increasingly responsible operations and executive management positions since joining the company in 1976 including senior vice president and president of the company's former Automotive Products unit.

Massa is a former chairman of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and remains an officer of that organization. He also is a member of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity Improvement (MAPI). He is a graduate of San Jose University, San Jose, Calif., and earned an MBA from Seattle University, Seattle, Wash.

Bishop joined A. O. Smith as director of technical services in 1981. He was named vice president of corporate technology in 1985 and oversaw the construction and staffing of the Corporate Technology Center. He also championed the creation of the company's Patent Recognition program and is the holder of two U. S. patents with A. O. Smith.

In 1995, Bishop was elected president of the Industrial Research Institute, Inc., a nationwide association of nearly 300 industrial companies. He has served on the industrial liaison councils for the engineering schools at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Science Advisory Board for Alverno College in Milwaukee, and was an adjunct professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He also served on the Wisconsin Governor's Council on Science and Technology. Bishop earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Washington in Seattle.

A. O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., is a diversified manufacturer serving customers worldwide. The company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of residential and commercial water heating equipment, offering a comprehensive line featuring the best- known brands in the industry. It is also one of North America's largest manufacturers of electric motors, with an extensive line of hermetic, fractional horsepower, and integral horsepower motors for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. A. O. Smith employs approximately 19,500 people at facilities in the United States, Mexico, China, Canada, and Europe.