Leadership and the Pioneer Team

Pioneer’s leadership team is the company's decision-making management body. Together, they focus on major financial, strategic, and operational decisions for the organization. Their respective focuses contribute to the well-rounded development of the firm’s long-term goals and short-term objectives.

Mitchell Stansloski, PhD., P.E.

President

With over 29 years of equipment troubleshooting, plant engineering and reliability consulting, Mitchell Stansloski, Ph.D., P.E., is the president and founder of Pioneer Engineering. Having worked in the reliability and maintenance fields for over two decades, Dr. Stansloski has held various positions in manufacturing plants throughout the Midwest and Gulf Coast. With his experience as a consultant in both reliability and maintenance fields, he founded Pioneer Engineering in the spring of 2000. He made education and training a cornerstone of Pioneer and is the sole author and developer of the course materials for vibration analysis and reliability engineering, specifically for use in public and private courses which are instructed by Pioneer Engineering instructors. Dr. Stansloski has been a keynote speaker at several domestic and international reliability engineering industry conferences. Dr. Stansloski earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio Northern University, his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. In addition to his role as president at Pioneer Engineering, he is also a professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State University where he teaches mechanical vibration analysis, dynamics, reliability and the senior design practicum. Dr. Stansloski has also developed a mechanical vibrations course for the University as well as headed the redevelopment of the school’s dynamics lab. He is a certified Category IV analyst by the Vibration Institute, a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Vibration Institute and has contributed articles for publication in Maintenance Technology magazine. Connect with Mitch on LinkedIn.

Chad Wilcox, MSME

Executive Director of Business Development

As Pioneer Engineering’s Executive Director of Business Development, Chad Wilcox oversees the day-to-day management of all engineering services and activities for the organization, as well assisting in the growth initiatives of Pioneer Engineering. Chad is one of Pioneer’s most tenured course instructors and is an active field consultant providing reliability and mechanical vibration solutions, worldwide. Chad was hired at Pioneer in 2004 as a mechanical engineering consultant and was promoted to a director through his ongoing demonstration of his commitment to not only the long-term goals of the company, but also providing clients with unsurpassed professional and personalized service. Chad is a certified Category III Vibration Analyst by the Vibration Institute and is currently pursuing his Professional Engineer certification. Chad has significant experience across many industries in advanced vibration analysis with a focus on Modal and ODS analysis, plant vibration condition monitoring setup, and vibration analysis training and mentoring.  Chad has experience performing failure analysis for Seagate Technologies as well as new product development modal parameter validation for Caterpillar. Chad earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in 2004 and his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2014. Connect with Chad on LinkedIn.

Nina Hedrick, BSME

Director of Sales and Marketing

Joining Pioneer Engineering in the Fall of 2016, Nina Hedrick comes with 17 plus years of technical sales and marketing experience. Her expertise includes working with various accounts in the Oil and Gas, Turbomachinery, OEM, EPC, Pulp and Paper, Power Generation, and Petrochemical Process industries. Nina began her career in reliability engineering and services in 1997 with Rockwell Automation (Entek IRD). From then until March 2008, she developed strong sales and leadership skills as Area Manager. From there she advanced to a Regional Sales Manager and Application Systems Engineer for the Gulf Coast area. Nina’s technical sales experience also includes over six years with UTC Det-Tronics, a leading fire and gas detection manufacturer. As a Regional Sales Manager and North American Turbine Account Manager, she was responsible for accounts such as Solar, GE Oil & Gas, Rolls Royce Energy, Siemens and others. Nina has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M and resides in Houston, Texas. Connect with Nina on LinkedIn.

Matt Price, BSME, CMRP

Reliability Services Manager

Matt Price joined Pioneer Engineering in September of 2014. With over 7 years of experience in reliability engineering and project management within oil refineries, Matt brings to Pioneer Engineering a unique skill set and strategies to increase our reliability service offerings as well as provide vibration analysis and troubleshooting to our clients. As Pioneer Engineering's Reliability Services Manager, Matt is responsible for the day-to-day management of all of Pioneer Engineering's reliability specialists in addition to ensuring our clients receive the best possible service. Matt earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wyoming and is a Certified Maintenance Reliability Professional. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.

 

The Pioneer Team

Austin Neumeier, BSME

Mechanical Engineer II

Austin Neumeier joined the Pioneer Engineering team in early 2013 as an intern while he was finishing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. As an intern he developed an automated algorithm to analyze valve events in reciprocating compressors and engines for performance evaluation and troubleshooting. His senior design project at Colorado State University, sponsored by Pioneer Engineering, was the development of a portable system to thermodynamically evaluate reciprocating compressor performance and identify machinery faults. After graduating in May 2013 he joined Pioneer Engineering’s Research and Development team where he focused on high end vibration analysis problems as well as internal research products. Throughout his experience at Pioneer he has maintained condition monitoring programs across many industrial sectors including the power industry, cement plants, refineries, high tech manufacturing, and food and beverage production. He also teaches a portion of our vibration analysis seminars across the country as one of our instructors. Austin now serves as Field Services lead for Pioneer, where his experience in advanced vibration analysis and mentoring are utilized to assist and develop our staff.  Connect with Austin on LinkedIn

Grant Slinger, MSME

Mechanical Engineer II

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Tyler Faucett, BSME, MAuE

Mechanical Engineer II

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Alex Tomsick, BSME

Mechanical Engineer l

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Kevin Aiken, BSME, MAuE

Mechanical Engineer

Kevin Aiken has been working with Pioneer Engineering since June of 2015 as a Mechanical Engineer. He has been the lead engineer for the Sinclair Refinery contract since May of 2016. Kevin graduated from Colorado State University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering while running Division I track for CSU.  As a Mechanical Engineering intern, he was involved with Hewlett Packard Workstations Research and Development. There Kevin focused on optimization of air flow and thermal management, while working with other mechanical engineers to ensure design goals were achieved. This led into his Senior design project at CSU where he was the Lead Aerodynamics Engineer for the CSU Formula SAE racecar team. During that time Kevin worked to increase the efficiency of the aerodynamics system. After graduation he decided to further pursue his passion for vehicle aerodynamics and performance by attending Clemson University in the Automotive Engineering graduate program and working for BMW manufacturing in South Carolina. At BMW, Kevin worked on a quality engineering team to ensure that assembly quality standards were met. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

Ken Newton

Reliability Specialist ll

Pioneer has recently brought Ken Newton on board with over 10 years of natural gas reciprocating maintenance, troubleshooting, and analysis experience. Ken's role was engineering technician for Kinder Morgan and Anadarko focusing on reliability of reciprocating equipment. Ken is certified to the highest levels in all of the Windrock engine and compressor analysis training. Ken has a strong understanding of the energy industry from production, to pipeline, to midstream and refining. His knowledge base and experience has added the ability to find solutions that best fit the customer’s needs. Connect with Ken on LinkedIn.

Drew Gowing

Reliability Specialist

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Tom Reddicks

Kent Stone

Ally Emmel