Key Personnel
Curtis Maas
CEO and Chairman of the Board
Curtis Maas is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the RDI Group, which is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. The RDI Group provides highly engineered capital equipment and related products to customers worldwide in various industries including asphalt roofing, metal coil processing and road construction.
Mr. Maas began in the machinery business as a project engineer, and also worked as a market development manager focused on diversification of products and markets. Under his leadership, the RDI Group has grown to serve customers all over the world with a wide range of products and services. The company is committed to technical and design innovation, and offering the highest total value to its customers.
Mr. Maas holds a BSME degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is also a board member of a number of privately held companies, as well as various not-for-profit organizations
Fred Kestler
President
Fred Kestler is President of The RDI Group. Mr. Kestler leads the day to day operations of the groups two business units. Prior to joining The RDI Group, Mr. Kestler was Vice President of Sales and Marketing at GE Capital, responsible for one of the equipment sales and leasing companies and for the Transport Technologies division.
Mr. Kestler holds a BS in Information Systems Management and an MS in Management from the University of Maryland.
Joseph Gajc
Director of Marketing
Joe Gajc is the Director of Marketing for both the Reichel & Drews and Chicago Slitter business units. Mr. Gajc leads the group's efforts to build global brand awareness, initiate new product launches, design and implement corporate strategies and support sales. Mr. Gajc has held numerous positions through out his career with The RDI Group including Director of European Operations, International Sales Manager and Engineering Manager.
Mr. Gajc holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago and an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
Harald Jablonski
Purchasing and Supply Chain Manager
Harald Jablonski leads the purchasing and global procurement team with a focus on creating value by procuring superior parts and materials that are required to build into our high quality equipment and products. Mr. Jablonski is also responsible for the development of RDI's global sourcing capabilities, to insure that our equipment and products provide the best overall value for customers.
Tom Ziegler
Director of Engineering
Tom Ziegler is Director of Engineering for both the Reichel & Drews and Chicago Slitter business units. He is responsible for leading the RDI Group’s talented engineering team and maintaining the company's ongoing commitment to provide highly engineered and innovative equipment to our customers.
Tom joined the RDI Group with over 19 years of project engineering, operations quality and management experience in the steel processing industry. Prior to his current position Tom was the Engineering Manager for Chicago Slitter.
Tom holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and an MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
Jim Russell
Director of Chicago Slitter
Jim Russell is the Director of the RDI Group’s Chicago Slitter business unit. Mr. Russell leads the Sales, Customer Support and Engineering teams focused on offering high value metal coil processing equipment that increases productivity. Before being named Director in 2003, Mr. Russell was Engineering Manager for Chicago Slitter and before that, a design engineer.
He received both a BS in Engineering Technology and an MS in Industrial Management from Northern Illinois University.
Rick Schweinberg
Chief Financial Officer
Rick Schweinberg oversees Finance, Accounting, Information Technology and Human Resources, all critical functions shared by the RDI Group's three business units. Prior to joining the RDI Group, Mr. Schweinberg was Vice President and CFO at Cloud Corporation, a high speed machinery and packaging solutions provider. Before that he worked in finance and audit functions at Interlake Corporation, Walt Disney World Company and Arthur Andersen & Company.
Mr. Schweinberg holds a BS in accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA in finance from DePaul University.
Steve Vining
Director of Manufacturing
Steve Vining is Director of Manufacturing for The RDI Group. He leads the strong manufacturing group that is responsible for delivering superior products and the highest value to customers. Mr. Vining is also instrumental in implementing and building RDI's state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and material flow methods.
Mr. Vining brings more than 28 years of extensive management experience in manufacturing with proven ability in delivering objectives relative to quality, efficiency and on-time performance.
Mr. Vining holds a BS in Liberal Arts from Western Illinois University.