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Andy Summerville Joins Community Colleges Board of Trustees
Andrew G, Summerville, Jr., Manager of Engineering at BD Medical Systems in Canaan, has been appointed to the CT Community Colleges Board of Trustees as Litchfield County's representative. Andy's professional background is anchored in high volume manufacturing, specializing in process development. BD is a medical technology company that manufactures and sells a broad range of supplies, devices and systems for use by healthcare professionals, medical research institutions, industry and the general public. The Canaan plant houses BD Medical, which is engaged in the manufacture of hypodermic syringes, and the Biosciences Lab Work group that makes laboratory products such as test tubes and vials.
Mr. Summerville earned his AAS in Product and Machine Design from SUNY at Alfred, a BSMfg.E from the University of Bridgeport, and an MBA from the University of New Haven. Before joining BD, he worked for General Electric, the BIC Company, Chesebrough Ponds, Inc., and in small business—always in the area of Manufacturing Process Development. He has received national recognition from the American Society of Engineering Education in creative engineering design, and has been awarded the Chesebrough Ponds Certificate of Appreciation for Product Development.
Andy Summerville is currently serving as President of the Northwest CT Manufacturers Alliance, an organization that was initiated at Northwestern CT Community College in Winsted. Last year, in an interview conducted at BD by Northwestern Pathways, the business and industry journal of NCCC, Mr. Summerville was asked about the role Northwestern CT Community College could play in helping to fulfill his company's labor needs. He responded: "We can train people here, but it is difficult to educate people here. We can do it but it is not a good environment for that. The community college system is a much better environment for educating people, because it can offer the background knowledge that they need to come into a plant. Then, when they are trained, there is meaning to everything." Commenting on the importance of the Manufacturers Alliance to the region, Mr. Summerville stressed his support; "We see it as important to support other industry in the Northwest Corner, so that we can all benefit from this alliance that's been formed, and when anybody in the area has a need, the others in the area will support them in that need. The Manufacturers Alliance is about bringing manufacturers, schools and people together for a mutual benefit."
Andy and his wife Betsy reside in Goshen, where they enjoy country living in the Litchfield Hills with their five children.
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