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Q: What attracted you to a career in manufacturing? A: I attended a technical high school, and I enjoyed and did well in
MEET YOUR METAL MAKERS

Featuring: Frank Kraft, Tooling Manager at ARO Metal Stamping

For Frank Kraft, manufacturing is a family matter. His brothers and extended family members are also in the business. In fact, his brothers introduced him to metal stamping when he was fresh out of high school. At the time he was being fast-tracked through an Illinois-based retail system and was planning to attend Michigan State to study business. However, after witnessing his brothers in their manufacturing roles, he similarly saw himself in a more hands-on role and knew he needed to act on his mechanical aptitude. Twenty-eight years later, Frank is the tooling manager at ARO Metal Stamping.

Q: What attracted you to a career in manufacturing? A: I attended a technical high school, and I enjoyed and did well in math, drafting, and shop courses, so manufacturing was a good fit. I was also drawn to the steadiness of the work and the pride people take in what they do. The passion people in manufacturing have is unlike any other industry.

Q: How did your experience lead you to ARO? A: I served a full apprenticeship as a tool and die maker in 1988. Since then, I’ve been through pretty much every facet of the business: designer, engineer, engineering manager, operations manager. I built my career working for large companies in metal stamping, so I was familiar with ARO’s work. I saw the opportunity in ARO, and I wanted to be a part of something bigger by helping grow and improve an already great company.

Q: Tell me about your current job responsibilities. A: Today, I am the tooling manager at ARO. I oversee the engineering,

development, design, quoting, and management of all tooling projects. Some daily duties can include coordinating replacement details, facilitating order placements with our suppliers, or analyzing and debugging parts and tooling during building and through production.

Q: What excites you about being a part of the ARO team? A: A lot of improvements are more attainable with new leadership. Younger

leadership pushes for change, which is very exciting. I also enjoy seeing people grow, I enjoy helping others grow, and I enjoy having a company backing me in my personal growth.

I wanted to be a part of something bigger by helping grow and improve an already great company. - Frank Kraft Tooling Manager

Q: Why do customers keep coming back to ARO? A: That’s easy; it’s all about our relationships with our customers. While pricing and quality are all there, I believe the customer service is the real difference. Our team strives to help the customer solve their problems, from quoting and design all the way through shipping the product.

ARO Metal Stamping is a turnkey source for low-, medium-, and high-volume precision metal stampings and assemblies. To connect with someone on our team or to find out more about our metal stamping capabilities, visit arometal.com.

COMPLEX METAL STAMPING, DONE JUST RIGHT. 78 Congress Circle West, Roselle, IL 60172 | (630) 351-7676 | arometal.com