Before joining Bender, Andy was involved in a mixture of microelectronics processing equipment (machinery to assemble electronics, fiberoptic switches), and defense work (smart weapons interface, hardened LCDs).  What my specific roles were:  electronics design and electromagnetic compatibility. Electronic circuit board design between aircraft and weapon systems and the electromagnetic compatibility makes sure the products don't interfere with other electronics in the vicinity (for example, in prior times if you turned on a vacuum the TV might become fuzzy).  

At Bender, he manages the engineering department. Our primary tasks are new product development, creation of submittals to support BUH sales, and creating new parts in SAP to support new configurations of BUH product.  We’re also responsible for working with UL to maintain or obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals on current and new products. Andy is a member of the Executive Leadership Committee and he likes to leave his door open for employees to come to him with any concerns or questions. 

When asked what he enjoys about Bender the most, this is what he said: "When I first came to Bender, it was refreshing to be working on product to protect people, rather than military jobs.  I enjoy the culture, as a few examples there’s lots of good people at Bender, we try to develop our staff and we do promote from within far more often than I am accustomed to seeing. I personally appreciate the work – life balance." 

In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor activities, reading, I’m an amateur historian (focused on American history, up to and especially the Civil War, his dad was extremely interested in history and specifically the family history which passed on to Andy), enjoy sampling different flavors of beer, whiskey, and the occasional cigar. Andy has one daughter in college, attending the University of Vermont.  

His favorite Bender product is PowerGuard – it will be the first Bender product that is entirely Bender Inc. in origin. The first variant will be designed for commercial kitchens but there are plans for followup variants that will be similar to the LifeGuard family for general purposes like fountains, and a Special Purpose GFCI for greenhouses and emerging markets.  

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