Meet Lori Sturdevant, our Lead Tool Design and Technical Service Associate at our GWS-Beloit facility in Illinois. Lori has been working at this location for 35 years, where she uses her vast experience with technical quotes, design and overall tap knowledge to help her customers every day.

Designing Threads and Loving It

Since 1986, Lori has been working at the GWS-Beloit facility, when it was previously known as North American Tool. She has always been interested in the full cycle of cutting tool manufacturing, eager to learn anything about the whole process of manufacturing cutting tools from start to finish. Continually being this inquisitive is how she has been able to tackle any tool design challenge that has come her way. Lori is responsible for all of the technical quotes and thread designs of the taps produced at GWS-Beloit. Sometimes applications require more intricate or complicated thread forms for our taps, and this is where Lori steps in to make sure we design the right tool for the job. In addition to her normal technical services, she enjoys training other associates and helping develop programs for tool designs. Her love of technical drawings sprouted from a keen interest in math. Ever since high school, Lori enjoyed learning and applying mathematics, which has proven crucial to her working with complex tool form designs. She enjoyed constantly learning so much she even went back to school later in life to get her technical degree, and still finds ways to learn something new every day from customers and coworkers alike.

One of Lori’s favorite things about her job is being able to help people and to always learn something new each day. Challenges are always to be had, such as new tap thread forms like those for medical applications. She still finds time to train new engineers and mentor customer service associates to be tool experts when communicating with their customers. One of her proudest accomplishments was helping with a ball screw form (thread form) for an application involving airplane flaps for a large aerospace manufacturer. The whole GWS team came together and was able to design the tap based on the thread form. The distributor they were working with appreciated how we dealt with the end users requests and Lori made sure they got exactly what they needed for the application to be a success. She loves working for GWS Tool Group because she feels like a part of a larger family that can offer unparalleled support to each facility. It’s great when she can get help from other GWS facilities around the country, ensuring that her customers get the best possible service. She also appreciates our constant investment in new machinery to increase the efficiency of our production process. Even though she is a cutting tool expert herself, she still enjoys seeing younger coworkers that are eager to learn quickly. She remains excited about the future growth of GWS, and looks forward to the continuing support.

Family, Fun, and Community Service

When not perfecting thread form designs for her customers, Lori enjoys blues and classic rock music, going to local venues and concerts. She also likes reading the newest fantasy, science fiction or mystery novel on the bestseller list or cooking something from her sprawling garden. She definitely has a green thumb! One of her other favorite things to do is spending time with her two grown children and her 10 year old granddaughter that lives in Louisiana.

When it comes to travel, she follows the warm weather and water to the beach. Whether it’s Myrtle Beach or visiting family in Florida, she lives to be by the ocean. She also likes to keep busy at home with her ceramics creations. Over the years she has made many cherished holiday pieces as gifts for her family members such as ceramic turkeys or colorful candy dishes. Something that her coworkers may not know about her is just how involved she is as a volunteer in her local community. She has been a Sunday school teacher for 25 years, and also volunteered as a hospice caregiver. She truly enjoys spending time with those she volunteers for, taking the time to learn about them and keeping them company.

Interested In A Career At GWS Tool Group?

If you enjoy working with dedicated people like Lori, consider applying to GWS Tool Group. We are always looking for talented and driven individuals to work at our facilities in Florida, California, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Canada. Browse open jobs here.