The EPMA has announced that Jonathan Wroe, EPMA executive director, passed away on Friday 4 December after a short illness.
’Jonathan was a great executive director and ambassador of the powder metallurgy industry, who during his 14 years at the Association turned the EPMA into a successful trade body for the benefit of all the Powder Metallurgy community,’ said Philippe Gundermann, EPMA president. ‘This is an enormous and painful loss for all of us as friends and colleagues and for the European PM industry. We have lost a great man, dedicated to our industry, hard worker, prudent and a great administrator.
‘Jonathan brought to EPMA his energy and he has been an untiring motor until the end,’ he added. ‘The EPMA board, council and staff are very sad about this loss, but in his memory will stay highly committed to the future of the association.’
Impressive track record
Jonathan Wroe was a graduate of University College, Oxford and spent ten years as part of the shipping industry in Operations Management before moving into export marketing. Since 1986 he worked in the materials sector with Cookson Group and CERAM Research holding senior roles in sales and marketing, purchasing and technology transfer.
In 2001 Jonathan joined the European Powder Metallurgy Association as executive director and as part of his wider EPMA responsibilities he represented the European PM industry on UK boards, European project groups and several international committees.
Jonathan came with an impressive track record in marketing and presentation was key to his strategy. Thus, as befitting a new director, a new logo was designed and a new EPMA brand image emerged. The website was totally transformed and results soon followed; during his fourteen years with the EPMA membership increased to an all-time high with 188 corporate and 75 individual members to date.
Jonathan was new to metallurgy technology and came to EPMA with an open mind, always keen to try new initiatives. During Jonathan’s time at the EPMA he worked on numerous events, starting with the Euro PM2001 Congress & Exhibition in Nice, France. From this stepping stone into the PM industry he managed, coordinated and assisted on annual Euro PMs, general meetings, board and council meetings and three World PMs, 2004, 2010 and more recently working in the build up to the 2016 event. Jonathan was a committed team member behind the scenes as well, actively participating in congresses, helping to set up and breakdown, in record time, when the event finished.
International connections
Through his international working relationships with the EPMA’s sister organisations, North America’s Metal Powders Industry Federation (MPIF) and the Asian focused Japanese Powder Metallurgy Association (JPMA), friendships developed with colleagues around the world. In 2004 these positive connections helped to create and launch the Global Powder Metallurgy Property Database. The first material property database of its kind that was free to use, an internet accessible database, providing material property covering a wide range of powder metallurgy material systems.
In 2009/2010 Jonathan’s level headed approach helped steer the EPMA through one of the worst recessions in memory, whilst at the same time providing a first class World PM Congress & Exhibition in Florence, Italy, which has been one of the most memorable to date.
During his time as the EPMA’s Sectoral Group coordinator of EuroMIM and, more recently, as one of the founding partners of the European Hot Isostatic Pressing Group (EHPG), Jonathan worked on the creation and implementation of International ISO Standards, PM technology promotion, resulting in the brand new ‘Introduction to HIP’ brochure as well as a revamped ‘Introduction to MIM’, and EU funded projects for the benefit of the PM industry, such as ‘Design for PM’ an e-learning training course.
‘On behalf of the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), APMI International, and the North American powder metallurgy community, let me express my heartfelt sorrow and thoughts on the passing of Jonathan Wroe,’ said C. James Trombino, executive director of the MPIF. ‘Having worked with Jonathan since he arrived at EPMA in 2001, he worked closely with MPIF in formulating areas of collaboration never seen before in our global industry. Over those years he became a trusted colleague and friend and his loss touches all of us here in North America. He was kind, creative, trustworthy and extremely effective in serving EPMA’s interests worldwide. His loss affects all of us who care deeply about the success of our global PM industry; he will surely be missed.’
Any work friends and former colleagues who wish to provide a mark of respect to Jonathan are welcome to submit a tribute at www.epma.com/tribute.
This story is reprinted from material from the EPMA, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
