McElroy, a leading designer and manufacturer of thermoplastic fusion equipment, has announced the arrival of Barry Johnson as the company's new quality director. He will replace Steve Burgess, who has announced his retirement after 35 years of service to McElroy.

"Steve Burgess has been the leader and steward over our quality culture for many years," said McElroy president and CEO Chip McElroy. "Given how our product has changed and evolved, we were looking for a quality professional with experience in large, complex organizations to help us build and improve our systems, as well as implement new processes that will allow us to continue to lead with the quality and performance our products are known for. Barry Johnson fits that bill, and I am excited to have him on board."   

Johnson will lead McElroy's quality team, identifying opportunities to improve the company's overall customer experience. Prior to arriving at McElroy, Johnson held positions at several companies including Ford Motor Company, Brunswick, and TriMas. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement at NORDAM, an aerospace manufacturing and repair firm.

"We are thrilled about Barry joining us. He brings a long history of operations, manufacturing, engineering, and quality experience to complement our operations team," said Paul Lui, McElroy vice president of operations.

A native Tulsan, Johnson is a University of Tulsa graduate whose career has centered around Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma. He is an American Society of Quality-certified Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tulsa, along with a master's degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Johnson is excited to become part of the McElroy team and looks forward to learning a new product line and approaching problem-solving in a new area.

"As a Tulsa native, I've watched McElroy grow over the decades, and I'm thrilled about joining the McElroy team," he said. "As with any company, solving problems and conducting root cause analysis is key to providing quality products to our customers. This is my passion and I look forward to applying my skill set at McElroy."