WASHINGTON—Mary Vermeer Andringa, president and CEO of Vermeer Corp., is the new vice chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
She is in line to become the first woman to chair NAM, which is the nation’s largest industrial trade association. Andringa was elected vice chair at the NAM’s semi-annual Board of Directors meeting in October 2008. She succeeds Michael Campbell of Arch Chemicals in this voluntary position that traditionally paves the way for the NAM chairmanship.
Andringa will be the third executive from a small or medium manufacturing company to lead the manufacturers’ association. She will also be the third executive from Iowa to lead the NAM, following Richard Kautz of Grain Processing Corp. (1976) and Daniel J. Krumm of Maytag Corp. (1990).
“I am honored to serve America’s manufacturers in these tumultuous economic times,” Andringa says. “I look forward to working with the Obama Administration and the new Congress to help craft policies and legislation that will enable manufacturing to be a significant part of our nation’s recovery and long-term economic growth,” said Andringa.
“Mary chaired the NAM Small and Medium Manufacturers in 2006 and 2007 and was instrumental in helping build the NAM membership,” says NAM President and CEO John Engler. “Her drive, intellect and strong dedication to American manufacturing are truly exemplary and will serve manufacturers well in this era of economic and competitive challenges,” he says.
Andringa is president and CEO of Vermeer Corporation, a family-owned agricultural, construction, environmental and industrial equipment manufacturing company with 2,100 employees. She received an A.B. degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Andringa taught in Iowa Public Schools from 1972-1975 and directed the Mustard Seed Preschool in Omaha, Neb., in the late 1970’s. She began working at Vermeer in market research in 1982 and became president and COO in 1989, with a special focus on manufacturing, continuous improvement and engineering. Andringa assumed her current position in February 2003. She was also the first woman to chair the Association of Business and Industry in Iowa in 1992.
