[June 12, 2014]

Eaton's Kyle Croes Named Top Industrial Engineering Student

Power management company Eaton (News - Alert) announced that Kyle Croes, a former co-op student who was hired as a full-time Eaton employee in May, has won the 2014 Institute of Industrial Engineers' James W. Barany Student Award for Excellence. Croes received the award June 2 at IIE's annual conference in Montreal, Canada.

Kyle Croes won the 2014 Institute of Industrial Engineers' James W. Barany Student Award for Excellence. Eaton hired Croes, a former co-op student, in May as part of the Supply Chain Management team for the company's Truck North America operations in Galesburg, Michigan. (Photo: Business Wire)

The award is presented annually to one undergraduate student in North America for distinguished service to industrial engineering through excellence in scholarship and campus leadership.

"We are extremely proud of Kyle for receiving this award," said John Beering, senior vice president and general manager of Eaton's Commercial Vehicle Transmission Business. "Kyle is an exemplary young engineer with tremendous dedication and vision. His unique blend of technical, business and communications skills will serve him well throughout his career."

Croes recently was hired to work as part of the Supply Chain Management team for Eaton's Trck North America operations. He had previously worked at Eaton as a co-op student while attending Western Michigan University. During his co-op with Eaton, Croes worked on the launch of the company's new fuel-efficient Fuller Advantage™ Series automated transmission and he was part of an international sourcing team that helped improve program efficiencies and reduce costs for another transmission.

"I have already worked on several exciting projects for Eaton and look forward to many other innovative opportunities with the company," Croes said. "It's a great environment for me to apply my industrial engineering training and learn from my co-workers. Everyone at Eaton has been very friendly and helpful."

In addition to his work at Eaton, Croes was recognized by IIE for several other accomplishments. His engineering work includes developing a new production line for a medical device company, enhancing the logistics of a grain mill and redesigning a distillery's facility layout. While a member of the Detroit Symphony Youth Ensemble, Croes also invented a unique guitar-stringing tool.

Croes served as co-chair of the 2014 IIE Great Lakes Region Student Conference, was a member of engineering honorary Tau Beta Pi and was the president of the WMU chapter of Alpha Pi Mu, which is the national industrial engineering honor society. He graduated from Western Michigan in April with a degree in industrial engineering. Croes also earned a Six Sigma "Green Belt" through IIE.

Founded in 1948, IIE is an international, nonprofit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research and development of industrial engineering. Members are rooted in the sciences of engineering, the analysis of systems and the management of people.

A renowned researcher and educator, Dr. Jim Barany earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Note Dame, a master's degree from Purdue University (News - Alert) as part of the school's first industrial engineering program, and a doctorate from Purdue. He went on to teach at Purdue for more than 50 years and was an active member of IIE, influencing and guiding thousands of engineers throughout his career.

Eaton is a power management company with 2013 sales of $22.0 billion. Eaton provides energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton has approximately 101,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140612005649/en/

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