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About Us

Manufacturers often feel frustrated or overwhelmed because they don’t have what they need to solve a problem.

FastLane advisors get you to solutions faster to make your life easier.

FastLane is not your typical consulting firm. We are unbiased advisors, measured by your success. 

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Meet The Team

 Every member of our team has a background in manufacturing. We understand manufacturing challenges.

Phil Ratermann

DIRECTOR

Mary R. Miller

Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Todd Brown

Senior Program Manager and Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Tamara Wamsley

Marketing and Business Strategist

Matt Hoyng

Continuous Improvement Advisor

Robert Gillen, PE

project manager/cybersecurity and electrical engineering consultant

April Vanover

Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Alex Hoffman

Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Ryan Schulte

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

Mark Diller

manufacturing Growth advisor,
product improvement

Jamie Dewing

Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Mark McCormick

Manufacturing Growth Advisor

Dana Tobias

Associate Administrator
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Our Vision

Drive impactful community growth by equipping manufacturers with the expertise to thrive.​

Our Mission

As the most trusted advisor to manufacturers, we bring relevant resources, thought leadership and experience to deliver the best solutions.

Our Story

FastLane is a team of unbiased manufacturing advisors finding the right solution to your most challenging problems FAST.

As a nonprofit, we provide support to small and medium-sized manufacturers to help grow sales, create jobs and save you money.

Our services include advanced manufacturing technologies, workforce development, continuous improvement, engineering services and business solutions.

FastLane is the west central Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center and part of the MEP National Network. Our office is located within the University of Dayton Research Institute.

 

Since 2013, FastLane has improved the competitiveness of more than 500 Ohio manufacturing companies.

Contact Us

Email: FastLane@udri.udayton.edu

Phone: (937) 229-1368

Mailing Address: 300 College Park #7537 Dayton, OH 45469-7537

Physical Address: 1700 S Patterson Blvd Dayton, OH 45409

Ⓒ 2019 - All Rights Are Reserved

Phil Ratermann

DIRECTOR

Prior to launching FastLane, Phil spent more than 25 years in manufacturing.  He has 17 years of experience in new product development, from which he holds 6 patents. He then served as vice president and general manager for 12 years, with profit and loss responsibility for 3 brands and 5 factories across North America.  Phil’s experience developing individuals and teams who deliver business growth, allows him to relate quickly with client companies.  Phil has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA from the University of Dayton.

 

Email: Philip.Ratermann@udri.udayton.edu

Mary R. Miller

MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Mary is an unbiased advisor who moves quickly to find solutions, leveraging the right resources and remove barriers to deliver results. Mary has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of industries including component and capital equipment manufacturing, professional engineering services, operations management and contracting. She has held positions ranging from application engineer to chief operating officer. Mary has a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA and a Small Business Coaching Certification.

 

Email: Mary.Miller@udri.udayton.edu

Todd Brown

SOLUTIONS DELIVERY TEAM LEAD & MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Todd has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing with a proven record in multi-site operations including profit and loss responsibility, continuous improvement, business processes and project management. Todd has organizational expertise in operations management, technical management, and quality. Todd has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA with Project Management focus from Wright State University. He also holds 2 patents and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

 

Email: Todd.Brown@udri.udayton.edu

Tamara Wamsley

MARKETING AND BUSINESS STRATEGIST

Tamara’s creative marketing strategies help our manufacturing clients to improve their marketing impact and increase sales. Tamara manages all FastLane marketing, communications and events. She is also a Gallup certified StrengthsFinder coach, holding team-building workshops to improve employee engagement. Tamara received her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wright State University, focused on behavioral economics and consumer insight.

 

Email: Tamara.Wamsley@udri.udayton.edu

Matt Hoyng

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ADVISOR

Matt has over 15 years of experience in manufacturing with a proven record of managing site operations focusing on continuous improvement and implementing Lean. He witnessed firsthand the improvements lean manufacturing offers. Now he enjoys sharing this knowledge to help companies succeed by improving their process and culture with Lean methodologies. Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology with a minor in Business from Ohio University and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.

Email: Matt.Hoyng@udri.udayton.edu

Robert Gillen, PE

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CYBER SECURITY

Robert has more than 20 years of experience in government contracting, R&D and small business consulting in research and industry. Rob specializes in project management and consults manufacturers on electrical engineering, cybersecurity planning and working with the Department of Defense. He has managed projects within academia, government, and industry.  Rob has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Wright State University and is currently working on his PhD in electrical engineering at the University of Dayton.

 

Email: Robert.Gillen@udri.udayton.edu

April Vanover

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT and GOVERNMENT RELATIONS LEAD

April has 12 years of manufacturing and supply chain experience. She has experience working within all departments across the organization. April has experience in leadership, management, workforce development, talent acquisition, employee coaching, operations management, continuous improvement and government relations. April holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Management and Ethics and is currently working on her MPA.

 

 

Email: April.Vanover@udri.udayton.edu

Alex Hoffman

MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Alex enjoys leveraging his 25 years of experience to help manufacturers solve tough manufacturing engineering and automation problems. His career has focused on production and capital equipment projects in the automotive, medical device and consumer electronics industries. Alex has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Engineering Management. He also holds 3 patents and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

 

Email: Alexander.Hoffman@udri.udayton.edu

Ryan Schulte

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

Ryan joins the team with more than ten years of experience in manufacturing. Ryan’s background focused on account management and technical support. He also managed quality control of product repairs in both audio visual and IT product lines. Ryan holds Bachelors in Communications from Wright State University.

 

Email: Ryan.Schulte@udri.udayton.edu

Mark Diller

MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Mark leverages 20+ years of new product design and development experience to help clients create new and improved products.  He’s spent most of his career leading mechanical design of products and equipment from concept through production. Mark has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, holds 8 patents, and has taught  Mechanical Engineering Technology design courses. 

Email: Mark.Diller@udri.udayton.edu

Jamie Dewing

MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Jamie provides unbiased support, connecting manufacturers to resources to solve problems and enable business growth. Jamie co-owned a local manufacturing business for 12 years. He led sales, marketing, customer service, I.T, and has more than 15 years in software, Jamie has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Email: Jamie.Dewing@udri.udayton.edu

Mark McCormick

MANUFACTURING GROWTH ADVISOR

Mark provides unbiased support, connecting manufacturers to resources to solve problems and enable business growth. Mark has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing and process industries, including oil & gas upstream and midstream, industrial refrigeration and food & beverage.. His background includes senior level technical sales and marketing leadership, involving operations improvement, process automation and digital transformation. He has held leadership positions involving new business start-ups, product launches and market penetration.

 

Email: Mark.McCormick@udri.udayton.edu

Dana Tobias

Associate Administrator

Dana has more than 30 years of administrative experience working in both industry and academia. Prior to joining the FastLane team, she spent 12 years supporting the University of Dayton School of Engineering. Dana has strong customer service and financial services background. 

 

Email: Dana.Tobias@udri.udayton.edu