Mike Mason
2010 VMA Chairman
MASON’S MANY YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY, WITH ONE COMPANY
AND WITH THE ASSOCIATION, AFFIRMS HIS BELIEF THAT THE
INDUSTRY IS FILLED WITH OPPORTUNITY.
BY GENILEE PARENTE
New Valve Manufacturers Association Chairman Mike Mason knows he’s taking over his responsibilities during a
difficult time. But his attitude has been honed by more than 35
years in the business, most of it with one company—Fisher. He’s
currently executive vice president of the Fisher Division of
Emerson Process Management.
“The current downturn has been as difficult as any I have
seen in my time span,” Mason explains. But one big advantage
the industry and his company have today over years past is “our
planning processes are better. We saw it coming sooner and took
necessary actions,” he explains.
He readily concurs that 2010 will still be a
tough year—filled with more challenging
decisions. However, he says “growth will
come back, but it will be very gradual in most
segments.”
Meanwhile, the challenges the industry
face have not really changed because of the
crisis: the main one today is how to attract skilled people and
train them, Mason says. Externally, “the valve industry is not
viewed as a particularly glamorous industry,” he says. However,
his background is testament to what the industry really is.
“Once someone gets on board and inside, it can be very excit-
ing,” he explains. “I’ve been here a long time and still find new
challenges every day.”
Mason discovered this reality after studying life sciences and
mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and
working for about a year in medical technology research. He got
a mechanical engineering degree from the Institute of Technolo-
gy and came to Fisher “because it was a more hands-on compa-
ny,” with channels for advancement and with more direct expo-
sure to people than research could provide.
“In the 1970s, the process industry markets were growing
and investing and, consequently, there were opportunities for
people like me,” he says. Once in the industry, “I stayed for a lot
of different reasons, but mostly because I have encountered so
many great people,” he says.
Spreading the message of what opportunities and excitement
exist in the valve industry is one of the main responsibilities of
VMA, Mason says.
Controls and now Emerson Process Management’s Fisher Division and says hooking up with Fisher in the first place was the
most important event in his career progression because that first
step has led to all the others. Currently, he is responsible for six
global business units, order management and technology.
That last area is one where he has seen great change, he says.
The most significant development has been “the value of the digital control systems and instrumentation on valves and in other
field devices has created significant automation improvements,”
he says.
Meanwhile, new “communications technologies and protocol standards have moved process
control capabilities into the future,” he adds.
But equally important are changes in valve
design and improvements in materials of construction.
Today, “valves last longer and are more cor-
rosion resistant—despite more challenging oper-
ations conditions,” he says.
In the past few years, however, one of the most significant
changes in the industry has come from external pressures. “We
have clearly seen a move by customers and regulatory agencies
to increase the requirements and specifications on product
design and manufacturing supply chain control,” he says. The
process industries have also become “very global,” moving
away from a North American-centric focus, he says.
“Communications
technologies and
protocol standards
have moved process
control capabilities
into the future.”
HIS CAREER
ASSOCIATION INVOLVEMENT
As chair of the organization, Mason says his main mission is to
develop ways to add value to what the association offers its
members—enabling these companies to add value to what they
offer their customers. To do that “we listen and direct our activities toward the membership based on the issues that are presented to the VMA Board,” he says. Additionally, given all the
major policies that are being developed in the United States, “I
would like to make sure that the voice of our organization is
being heard in Washington, DC and in the state capitols around
the country,” Mason says.
Like with his career, Mason has a long history of involvement
with VMA and the Valve Repair Council—almost 20 years. As
he puts it, “either you are committed and believe that what you
do is important and therefore, you get involved or you don’t. I
choose to participate,” he says. VM
GENILEE PARENTE is managing editor of Valve Magazine. Reach her at
gparente@vma.org.
