Leadership

John Norris is the CEO of TASi Measurement. Prior to joining TASi, John was the President of ONICON Incorporated; a flow and energy measurement business acquired by TASi in April 2019. TASi Measurement includes the following business units: AW-Lake, Air Monitor, EXACT Dispensing, Fox Thermal, KEM, Mission Communications, ONICON, Pulsar Measurement, Pyromation, Seametrics, Sierra Instruments, SignalFire, Vogtlin Instruments, and Vortek Instruments.

John has spent more than 30 years in industrial businesses and held roles in materials, operations, sales, and general management. He is motivated by a desire to build high performing customer-focused operations.

John is excited by the challenge of leading and integrating the TASi Measurement business into the future. He is passionate and committed to delivering quality engineered measurement products and services to our customers and providing a positive and encouraging environment the promotes continuing staff development.

Dennis Tichio is CFO of the TASI Measurement Segment of TASI Group.  Prior to joining TASI Group, Dennis was the CFO of ONICON Incorporated; a flow and energy measurement business acquired by TASI Group in April 2019.  The TASI Measurement Segment includes the following businesses: AW-Lake, Air Monitor, EXACT Dispensing Systems, Fox Thermal, Greyline, KEM, Litre Meter, ONICON, Pulsar Measurement, Pyromation, Seametrics,  Sierra Instruments, SignalFire, and Vogtlin.

Dennis has nearly 20 years of financial experience. He began his career in Public Accounting, before transitioning to the industrial sector, where he held roles in corporate accounting, investor relations, and customer service.

Dennis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Florida, a Master of Accounting degree from the University of South Florida, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Florida.   Dennis enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two children, and likes cooking and traveling.

Sam Fabian is the Vice President of Operations for TASi Measurement, joining the team in late 2023. Sam started his 25+ year career in industrial operations as a frontline manufacturing supervisor and has most recently coached businesses in strategically adopting lean methodologies.

Prior to this he led the Jacobs Vehicle Systems “Jake Brake” team as Vice President, Global Operations. Sam led the Jacobs team through multiple market and ownership changes while championing a focus on flexible automation. Sam held a similar position with Gems Sensors and Controls (Danaher/Fortive), a high mix custom sensor manufacturer. Here he partnered with the executive team on a multi-year strategy to improve quality and drive significant growth.

Sam has been responsible for leading multiple functions and sites in the US, Europe, and China while working with organizations like Detroit Diesel, MTU, Daimler Trucks, Danaher/Fortive, Altra Industrial Motion, and Cummins. During his career he was humbled to have been coached by practical lean experts from Toyota UK, Shingijutsu, and Danaher. Sam holds a BS in Packaging from Michigan State University.

Sam enjoys living in New England, spending time with his wife and three children, and rooting for Detroit sports teams.

Tricia Hall is the VP of HR for TASi Measurement.  Prior to joining TASI Group, Tricia was the Director of HR of ONICON Incorporated; a flow and energy measurement business acquired by TASI Group in April 2019.  With the company separation in January of 2024, Tricia moved into the role of VP for the new Measurement Company.

With over 20 years of experience in HR leadership roles, she brings a strategic mindset and a deep commitment to cultivating a positive workplace culture and is committed to driving impactful initiatives that enhance employee engagement, talent development, and organizational effectiveness. Her experience spans across industries, including financial services and manufacturing where she has honed her expertise in areas such as talent acquisition, performance management, employee relations, and HR policy development.  At the core of her approach to HR leadership is a belief in the power of people. She is committed to creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to reach their full potential. By fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and accountability, Tricia aims to cultivate a workplace where everyone can thrive and contribute to the company’s success.

Tricia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resources, and a Master of Science degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College, in Manitowoc, WI. Tricia enjoys spending her free time volunteering in a variety of youth centered organizations or outside, camping, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors!

Travis Sowards is the Director of Sustainability at TASi Measurement. Before joining TASi Measurement, Travis was the Director of Environmental Affairs at Nephron Pharmaceuticals and Nephron Nitrile, a leading supplier in contract manufacturing, FDA drug shortage medications, and medical devices.

Travis is dedicated to fostering a sustainable corporate environment across our diverse portfolio of platform companies. He eagerly embraces the opportunity to enhance transparency and accountability within the organization, thereby fortifying our global commitment to sustainability.

Travis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and a Business Foundations Program Certification from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also currently taking graduate coursework in Sustainability at Harvard Extension School. He holds numerous ESG certifications from the Global Reporting Initiative, GHG Management Institute, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and US Green Building Council.

Shankar is a customer-focused business leader with domestic & international experience in growing sales, managing operations, and developing new products for new markets. His passion is to deliver consistently high-quality service to customers across the entire buying experience from pre-sales to post-sales service & support.

Shankar was previously General Manager of Sciemetric and VP & General Manager for Asia Pacific for the TASi Product Integrity Segment. Prior to joining TASi in 2015, Shankar spent 15+ years at Emerson Electric Company where he rose through the ranks of the engineering organization, and devoted most of his efforts working on product development and project management. Shankar has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from India and a Master of Electrical Engineering from Lamar University in Texas.

Silke Afzalian Mand is Vice President TASi Industrial Liquid Flow and leads international operations, with responsibility for businesses in Europe, Asia, and North America. Since 2019, Silke is also the Managing Director of KEM, the German flow measurement business among the TASi Measurement companies. Silke originally joined KEM as Head of Finance and Human Resources in 2006, and since then she has been successfully supporting ongoing organic growth strategies as well as TASi M&A initiatives.

Before working for KEM Silke gained experience in finance, accounting, and HR. In her twenties she took on her first leadership role for an international pharmaceutical company, but has also worked in other industries, including IT and Logistics.

Silke is passionate about building and leading mission-driven teams to exceed customer expectations with sophisticated products and services. Silke is deeply grateful for having the opportunity to work for TASI where she can develop on both a professional and personal level, combining her career and family life.

When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and she likes cooking and traveling.

James Earle is General Manager of TASi Gas Flow, which is comprised of Air Monitor, Sierra Instruments, VorTek Instruments, and Fox Thermal. James joined TASi in early 2022, with responsibility for two sites in California, as well as overseas operations in the Netherlands and China.

Before joining TASi, James held multiple engineering, sales, marketing and general management positions at Henkel KGaA, Fluke (a Danaher company) and Bruker, a leading supplier of scientific and industrial instrumentation, with global P&L responsibility for multiple sites in the US and Europe.

James is focused on building strong teams that share his passion to remove waste from every aspect of the business, in the pursuit of improved business performance and a better customer experience.

Originally from Ireland, James has Associate Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Dublin Institute of Technology and a B. Sc. In Production Engineering from Trinity College Dublin. He is also fluent in Japanese, having spent five years there early in his career, and completed FANFE certification at Stanford Graduate Business School.

Eric Scherer has been with EXACT Dispensing since 1995. Starting at an entry level, Eric has moved through manufacturing, tech support, engineering, sales, operations management, and currently, shifted into the General Manager position.

EXACT provides dispensing solutions around the world for a vast array of industries, including filter, motor, solar, and aerospace. The endless arrays of applications present the challenges that, along with his exceptional team, drive his passion to develop new and improved solutions.

He has been married for over 33 years and very proud to have raised two successful boys who currently hold Occupational Therapist and Nuclear Engineering positions.

Eric has lived in several locations on both coasts and currently resides in Maine.

Living in Maine provides the quiet atmosphere and outdoor activities he enjoys such as boating/fishing, hunting and is currently building a new home on a lake to continue his dreams.

Bill Valentine is General Manager of ONICON, Inc. a market leader in flow and energy measurement products used primarily in hydronic heating and cooling systems. Bill joined ONICON in 2016 as VP of Engineering responsible for leading engineering teams at ONICON’s family of flow measurement companies including Greyline, Air Monitor, Fox Thermal, Seametrics and Pulsar.

Bill has 30+ years of experience developing precision instrumentation used in a wide variety of industries including semi-conductor, biomedical, agriculture, oil & gas and aerospace. Prior to joining ONICON, he held VP and CTO roles at Brooks Instrument and Celerity.

Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Eric Sawyer is General Manager of Pyromation, one of the leading manufacturers of temperature sensors in North America.  Producing a wide variety of thermocouples, RTDs, and thermowells in both standard and custom designs, Pyromation is focused on delivering value to the company’s customers and living up to the organization’s tagline: “Speed, Service, Solutions… Beyond Measure”.

Eric joined Pyromation in 2004 as a Manufacturing Engineer during the early days of the company’s Lean transformation.  He then moved into a Project Manager function before eventually stepping into the Engineering Manager role in 2007.  He served in that capacity for 15 years until ascending to the General Manager position in 2022.  Eric has a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and is certified in project management (PMP), Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Manufacturing, and quality… but has learned mostly by doing.  He is passionate about leadership, integrity, accountability, and building meaningful partnerships with Pyromation’s team members, customers, suppliers, and local community.

Jesse Correia is General Manager of SEAMETRICS, a market leader in flow meters and sensors used primarily in agriculture and industrial applications. Jesse joined SEAMETRICS in early 2020 and has responsibility for the site located in Kent, Washington.

Jesse has 15+ years of experience in sales, operations, and financial leadership roles.  Prior to joining Seametrics Jesse spent 17 years at Carlisle Interconnect Technologies where he held several positions including as a Business Unit General Manager and as a Vice President of Asia Pacific.

Jesse has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Western Washington University and an MBA from Seattle University.

Josh  serves as the General Manager and CTO at SignalFire Wireless Telemetry. With more than 18 years of experience in high tech instrumentation, he has a strong background in product development, embedded systems, and low-power wireless sensor networks.

He joined SignalFire in 2008, when it was a small start-up company, and was instrumental in the development of SignalFire’s successful product line and technology while serving as Director of Engineering.

Josh holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

In addition to spending time with his wife and daughter he enjoys working on and racing cars.

Fabian V. Waltz is CEO of Vögtlin Instruments GmbH – flow technology in Switzerland. In June 1999 Fabian started working for Vögtlin Instruments and took over the Managing Director from his father in 2007. He sold the company in July 2011 to the TASI Group and with this group in the back he has developed Vögtlin to a global brand and respected player in the Flow Meter Market with over 50 Distributors worldwide and a TASI Network in the US and China.

He brings a great general management background in developing and marketing of Sensors, Instruments and Solutions into a broad range of Scientific and Industrial applications such as Life Science, Coating, Pharma, Chemical, Environmental, and many other industrial markets. His experience and engagement has led the company to sustainable and double-digit growth, all made possible with a great team and innovative products.

Fabian believes in a culture of ownership, commitment, trust and teamwork.

He has a wife and a young daughter and loves to spend time with them and friends. His other passions are gardening, skiing and discovering and learning every day something new.