Central McGowan Adds New VP & GM for Its Growing Automation & Robotics Business

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (October 23, 2019) – Central McGowan (www.centralmcgowan.com), a FANUC-authorized integrator that seamlessly incorporates custom robotic solutions and technologies, and a leading local supplier of gases and state-of-the-art equipment/technology for the manufacturing, welding, medical, and food and beverage industries, is pleased to announce that Pete Rogers has joined its growing Automation Division.

Rogers possesses a strong mix of technical and leadership skills, having spent his entire 13-year career in steadily advancing positions at Acieta—another automation technology integrator that has over 4,500 installed FANUC robots used for a variety of manufacturing applications. In his role as Vice President of Operations at Acieta, Rogers was responsible for overseeing the service, integration, controls, fabrication, machining and assembly groups. Before that, he held positions of Integration Manager, Production Manager, Welding Segment Manager, Project Manager and Robotic Systems Engineer.

As the lead of Central McGowan’s automation division, Rogers sees tremendous growth potential based on current and future labor, worker safety and inspection trends. “Automation is the solution for helping customers improve productivity, customer satisfaction and ROI,” say Rogers. “It can be used to reduce cycle times, rework, repetitive tasks and labor issues or shortages; and boost quality, inspection capability, ergonomics, safety, flexibility and value-added processes.”

Central McGowan oversees, develops and designs fully-engineered specialty hard automation, robotic automation systems, and everything in between. “And, although welding and industrial manufacturing are what we know best,” says Rogers, “we have experience in more than 20 industries because of our diverse business model.”

Past projects have included robotic work cells for welding, machine tending, picking and placing, wood palletizing, magazine loading, hard automation, equipment integration, fixturing and tooling, automated cutting as well as machine vision and inspection. In addition to being FANUC Authorized, the company is also a 3M Select Robotics System Integrator, and will pursue other certifications based on customer requirements.

With just over a month under his belt, Rogers already understands what has made Central McGowan a successful integrator. “It’s our collaborative and customer-first approach that make us stand out from other integrators,” he explains. “We work closely with customers to develop the solutions they need,” Rogers says. “Every project starts with a customer challenge or requirement and grows from there.”

For more information, visit www.CentralMcGowan.com or contact its automation experts at 1-800-569-1322 or Automation@CentralMcGowan.com.

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About Central McGowan

Central McGowan is a third-generation, family-owned, diversified company founded in 1965 with the merger of McGowan Welding Supply of Little Falls (founded in 1947) and Central Welding Supply of St. Cloud. It has grown to include three distinct businesses: a FANUC-authorized automation and robotics integration division; a leading industrial, welding and medical gas & supply business; and a CO2 Solutions (beverage carbonation, water treatment, dry ice) division. It serves 20+ industries with customers spanning most of Minnesota and areas of N.D., S.D., Iowa & Wis.; and automation implementations across the U.S. and internationally. The company has 4 fully stocked retail stores in St. Cloud, Little Falls, Burnsville, Minn. and Fargo, N.D.; more than 70 Minnesota dealers; and CO2 distribution hubs/stores in St. Cloud and St. Paul, Minn. After decades of doing business, the company believes quality and integrity are the keys to success, as is always putting customers first. Central McGowan strives to be the everyday heroes who make life work better. Visit us online at WWW.CENTRALMCGOWAN.COM, on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.