My clients come to me with their conceptual designs and want functional, quality parts. So they need engineering support and a manufacturing partner. But many times they end up with designs that cannot be made, are not cost effective, or will take too long. I believe a broad knowledge base lays the foundation for creative design to quickly solve problems and avoid new problems. My clients are the program leaders who sometimes rely on me to own more than my scope of work. That is why after earning my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stony Brook University, I have pursued both engineering and entrepreneurial experiences. I have engineered energy storage, fluidics, point-of-care diagnostics, aerospace, internal combustion, and electric transportation systems. I am a patent holder and have won the Sema Best New Product: Tool and Equipment Category Award. As your project engineer, I will 1. Manage your project, 2. Design for manufacturing, 3. Launch to manufacture. Call me for an initial review of your project so you can start making your product. Direct: (631) 285-2441
My customers want quality parts from a repeatable process. But they lack that hard evidence to inform design changes for moldability. They also lack the scientific data to define a robust process. This leads them to a situation where they can only deal with problems after the fact. I give my customers confidence in their product by performing Moldflow simulation and scientific molding. This gives them insights into the quality risks in their design. We can then optimize part quality from an injection molding standpoint during the design phase. Scientific molding validates the process to give my customers confidence in the quality of their products. I graduated from one of only a handful of schools that specialize in plastics engineering. I received my M.S. in Polymer/Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. While working towards my B.S. in Polymer/Plastics Engineering, I interned for Vention Medical, GE Appliances and Oakley where I improved molding processes and quality systems for plastic injection molding operations. Let’s optimize your application. Call me at (631) 285-2427.
Seemab Yousuf joined Natech Plastics in 2014. As the Senior Applications Engineer, he supports clients from initial contact through project management and handoff to manufacturing. Seemab holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science from Stony Brook University and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Applied Mechanics from State University of New York. He speaks English and Urdu with native fluency and Hindi with professional, working proficiency. When he can pry himself away from Solidworks and spreadsheets he is an avid woodworker, real-time strategy game player, and food enthusiast.
Mike Botta is the Engineering Manager at Natech Plastics. Having joined Natech in 2012, he provides end-to-end engineering and design support and fulfills general management and account management responsibilities for many Natech accounts. With over ten years of experience in the engineering of medical devices, he has developed client relationships by owning the details of their programs and offering solutions to their engineering challenges. He authored Natech’s IQ/OQ/PQ Mold Qualification Protocol, and spearheaded its implementation using Scientific Molding and Scientific Processing as its foundation. He’s also very happy to talk your ear off about all things Scientific Molding/Processing. Botta holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University and has 18 medical device patents to his name. When not at work, you’ll find him at his quiet Long Island home spending quality time with his loving wife and his toddler twin boys. He is an avid weight lifter and fitness enthusiast and loves getting some fresh air on local biking and hiking trails.
Jennifer Wrieske is in charge of Customer Service for Natech with responsibilities in processing customer orders, issuing invoices, and fielding customer inquiries and concerns. She joined Natech in 2004 and has adapted to the changing needs of the growing company through the years by supporting recruiting, hiring, internal ISO audits, and accounting AP/AR. Jen graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University. Jennifer spends her free time with her family gardening and rescuing and breeding animals.
Jose Domingo Hernandez joined Natech in 2006 and is the Plant Manager. He supervises all production and daily manufacturing operations at both manufacturing facilities. He manages the manufacturing engineers, shift forepersons, mold forepersons, molding technicians, floor persons, and operators. His responsibilities include manufacturing improvement projects, operator safety, plant expansion, and employee hiring, and he takes ownership of the professional development of the people on his team. Domingo takes pride in having started at Natech in an entry level position and growing into one of the key managers of the company. He is currently pursuing his degree in Manufacturing Technology from Suffolk Community College. He holds professional certificates in ISO 9001 internal audit, mold polish, and mold maintenance and repair and is fluent in Spanish. His mutual growth with the company has instilled his sense of giving back through the sharing of his professional knowledge and experience to the youth of his community.
Betty Merrifield serves as Natech’s Senior Material Coordinator. She joined Natech in 2007 and is responsible for production scheduling, raw material procurement, arranging shipments, managing the Warehouse Team, and fielding customer inquiries. She performs Internal Audits in support of Natech’s ISO program. Betty is a trained ISO Internal Auditor and brings over 30 years of experience in manufacturing on Long Island having started with a defense subcontractor in Farmingdale then moving to a plastics blow molding firm before being recruited by Natech. She plays in a bagpipe band, competed in the World Championships in Glasgow Scotland as well as The All Ireland Championships in Kilkenny, Ireland, and performed at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and The White House. Betty also enjoys rough housing with her two mini schnauzers.
Kim Hildreth joined Natech in 2013. As the Human Resources Associate, she creates the environment to position Natech as an employer of choice. She manages talent recruitment, employment processing, employee onboarding, compensation and benefits, development programs, safety training, employee relations and retention, and labor relations. Kim brings a strength in management and team development. Prior to joining Natech, she was Co-Manager at Talbot’s where set financial goals, managed inventory, planned and executed the brand’s visual direction, developed the selling team, and grew the key selling metrics. She started her career at Starbucks where she supervised a diverse team and learned about customer experience, management, and employee coaching and training. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing from Salisbury University’s Perdue School of Business. She enjoys family movie nights and nature walks in Long Island’s local nature preserves.
Andrew Dunham joined Natech in 2016. As Natech’s Quality Assurance Manager, he manages both the Quality and Audit Teams. He is responsible for designing and implementing Quality Plans, part inspections, internal and external audits, the Quality Management System, and the Management Review. He successfully spearheaded the implementation of ISO 9001 at his previous position at Electronics Distribution. He holds the Certified Quality Auditor certification from ASQ. Andrew is a history buff and art lover.
Christine Murray joined Natech in 2010. As the Administrative Assistant at Natech, she oversees reception, accounts payable, accounts receivable, office administration, and systems and facility vendors. She holds a Word Processing Certificate from Berkeley College. She enjoys time with her family and traveling with a fondness for California wine country and the country music scene in Nashville.
David Kachoui joined Natech Plastics in 2010 to lead the Business Development team. He is in charge of building the company's long-term profitable relationships through the company’s Marketing and Sales efforts. Previously Kachoui managed North American Electronic Receivables at Citibank where he doubled product revenues by improving the sales-to-implementation processes. Prior to that he was Project Manager for Smith Barney’s Corporate Client Group. He has written articles on quality management for Quality Progress Magazine, holds the PMP certification from the Project Management Institute, achieved the Certified Quality Engineer certification from the American Society for Quality, and earned his MBA from Columbia University. He is an avid runner, a member of the New York Road Runners, and a regular finisher in the New York City Marathon.
We learn, we teach, we master. Tom Nagler, CEO, sees Natech Plastics as a living laboratory, built to deliver experiential learning opportunities to the community of people the company touches. Tom joined Natech in 1999, moving from steel, at Marubeni America Corporation, to plastic, with the common thread being new product development and multi-disciplinary engineering challenges. Natech’s late founder, and Tom’s father, Gerd Nagler firmly and lovingly groomed him for the diverse challenges of steering a manufacturing business headquartered in Long Island, New York, USA. This included supporting Toms’ academic pursuits, most-recently as a Beta Gamma Sigma graduate of Columbia Business School’s Master of Business Administration program. Outside of the office Tom has a life-long passion for science fiction, believes that he’s his best athletic-self (surfer, baller) today in his mid-40’s, and seeks to foster a life of gratitude and connection, starting at home with his wife Chris and shepherd Arnold.