Jim Healy retires after 40 years in plastics automation

Jim Healy, VP of sales and marketing at Sepro North America, is retiring at the end of this year after a career in the plastics automation industry that spanned more than 40 years. 

Born in Fargo, N.D., Healy moved frequently throughout the Midwest as a child. His first job after college was selling tractors, combines and other farm equipment for International Harvester Co. Eventually, a friend invited him to sell robots for AEC, and he never looked back, moving on to automation sales jobs at Conair and then Sepro North America.  

Healy recently spoke with Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, about his upbringing, what led to his lengthy career in automation, and what the future holds for him in retirement. 

After 40 years working in plastics automation, what are your retirement plans? 

Healy: I really don't have any. I play a lot of golf. My wife plays a lot of golf. I know that's going to be on our agenda, especially in the warmer weather, but I’m taking the month of January to think things over. My wife and I are headed to Florida for five weeks in February and part of March, and we'll try to figure things out from there. But right now, really no specific plans other than hopefully enjoying life after retirement. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up? 

Healy: I'm from a place that not a lot of people are probably from. I was born in Fargo, N.D., and we spent a couple of years in Fargo. My dad worked for International Harvester. That's where I got started selling farm equipment. He was a national sales manager for International Harvester, and I think we were transferred about every three or four years. So, if I count up how many different places I've lived, I think I've lived in 17 different places over the years primarily in the Midwest. 

What was your first job out of college? 

Healy: When I graduated from college in 1977, I went to work for International Harvester. I moved from Minnesota to Iowa, lived in Spencer, Iowa, and sold farm equipment there for five years. Then I moved to Lincoln, Neb., and was a marketing manager for International Harvester. I did all the shows and demonstrations as far as driving tractors and driving combines in farm shows and putting on expositions. I did that for a couple of years until 1984. 

When and how were you first exposed to the plastics automation industry? 

Healy: I got a call from a friend I went to high school with and worked with at International Harvester for a while, John Vandenbergh, who called me, and they were forming the application automation division of AEC at the time in the Chicago area, in Wood Dale, Ill. John asked me if I wanted to be one of his sales guys as he was forming this division for robots. I told him I didn't know a thing about robots. He said, “Well, I know you, and you can sell. Why not try it?” I packed up my bags and moved to Chicago. That's how I got the start, and 40 years later, I'm doing the same thing. 

What prompted you to join Conair and then Sepro? 

Healy: At the time, we [AEC] distributed Harmo robots and Remak out of Germany. Down the road, we lost the Harmo line. I had an opportunity to go with Sepro — it was Conair at the time — and I joined Conair in 1988. At the time I joined, they were introducing Sepro as one of their new product lines, and I was responsible for the automation sales at Conair. That went on until 2007 when Sepro and Conair formed a joint venture company, which lasted about six months. Six months later, we formed Sepro, which formed its division here in the U.S., called Sepro America. One day, I was a Conair employee; the next day, I was a Sepro employee. It was a quick turn of events, but it all started when Conair began the exclusive distributorship of Sepro for North America.  

What attracted you to the plastics automation business? 

Healy: I'll be honest, I don't know if I had an attraction other than a challenge presented by John when he called me to be a salesperson for him. I don't know if I was attracted to the plastics industry for any reason other than the opportunity to get into sales with a new company. I did it and enjoyed it, and it lasted for 40 years. I wasn't looking to get into the plastics industry. It just kind of happened. 

What have you found most rewarding about your career? 

Healy: Working with customers and providing them with solutions. Typically, we're presented with a problem that a customer is trying to overcome in their facility and asked to put technology to it. Coming up with the proper solution for our customers is really what I've enjoyed most. Certainly, I've enjoyed the relationships I've developed with customers. 

What will you miss the most once you retire? 

Healy: The people — both internally at Sepro and more importantly, externally, even my competitors. It's a small industry, and I've enjoyed the relationships I've developed with our customers, with our competitors, and with our distribution channels. All of those have been an important part of my life over the last 40 years. 

What was your greatest accomplishment? 

Healy: I don't know if there's a single accomplishment. I can point to several of our larger customers where we've automated their entire facilities, and I know we've made them more competitive with their customers. 

How has automation changed over the past 40 years? 

Healy: When I first started way back when, it was pneumatic robots. It was sprue pickers, initially, and then we went into three-axis pneumatic beam robots, and then we went to one-axis servo, and then we went to three-axis servo, five-axis servo, now up to nine- or 10-axis servo. Everything has become a servo drive now, and everything's coming with powerful controls. It's all about the controls. It’s the controls, the speed, the speed of the robots themselves, the speed on each axis, servo-driven vs, pneumatic-driven, and the controls. 

What trends are you seeing in plastics industry automation, especially in North America? 

Healy: I think the trends are developing more and more downstream automation. Customers are continually asking us for a total solution, not just to provide the robot, but to give me a complete work cell. They outline, “I want to do this: A, B, C, D and E. Can you provide that total package?” More and more, we're focusing on downstream automation and providing those total packages. 

In the early years, who was your mentor? Who did you admire and why? 

Healy: There would be several. Certainly, Paul Radat and Eric Radat. Paul was the father and the founder of Sepro. He has passed away. Eric, his son, has taken over the business. I had respect for them as the family that started Sepro and provided me with my lifeline for the last 40 years. I owe a lot to them, but there have been other individuals over the years at Conair and others who taught me the rights and wrongs on how to do business and how to be honest with customers and treat everybody fairly. 

How would you like to be remembered? What legacy do you want to leave behind? 

Healy: I don't know if I'll leave a legacy behind, but I want anybody that ever worked with me to say that I was honest and that I was a friend. Whether it was a customer, a competitor or whomever, I think that I always dealt openly with people. I was always honest with people. I got along with people, and I think most people, hopefully, got along with me. I’m good with that.