Robot manufacturer Motoman Inc., a unit of Yaskawa Electric Corp., has appointed Steve Barhorst as its new president and chief operating officer.

Barhorst, who was senior vice president and chief financial officer, succeeds Craig Jennings, who was with Motoman for 19 years. Barhorst's appointment comes at a time when Motoman is adopting a global growth strategy.

"Motoman is now ready and postured for significant growth because of Craig's leadership and focus on operational efficiency," said Gen Kudo, chairman and chief executive of Motoman and Yaskawa Electric America, in a prepared statement. "Thanks to Craig, Motoman is in an excellent position to aggressively pursue our next challenge — growth."

Motoman's growth strategy and Barhorst's appointment come at a time of recently improved robotic orders in the North American market. The Robotics Industries Association said this spring that orders from North American manufacturers rose 24% in 2007 to 15,856 units, or a value of $1.07 billion (€670 million), reversing a 30% decline in 2006. Sales to companies outside of North America pushed the total to 17,261 units valued at $1.15 billion (€720 million).

Barhorst has been with Motoman since August 2000, when he was vice president and chief financial officer. He was promoted to senior vice president four years later. In 2005, he was also put in charge of Motoman's Standards and Logistics Group, which makes up about 50% of the company's business. In 2007, Barhorst was named president of Motoman Robótica do Brasil.

Mike Gabbard, vice president of Motoman's Human Resources Group, said that Barhorst's Brazilian experience will help him in executing Motoman's global growth strategy.

"Naming Barhorst president of Motoman Robótica do Brasil in 2007 was a concerted effort to develop and round out Steve's leadership and business operational skills by adding international experience," said Gabbard, in a prepared statement. "Motoman's future success depends on leadership's ability to adapt, grow, and succeed in a global market. Under Steve's guidance, our Brazilian entity has flourished, making him an excellent long-term choice to lead us into the future."

Prior to joining Motoman, Barhorst worked as vice president and CFO of Dolly Inc., controller and assistant treasurer for Fidelity Health Care Inc., and audit manager at Ernst & Young. He graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 1985 with a degree in accounting.

Jennings had been with Motoman for the past 19 years, serving as president and COO for the last 11 of them. He has received numerous honors for his leadership in the robotics industry, including the Engelberger Award for Leadership in 2005.

Motoman, based in Dayton, Ohio, was founded in 1989. The company has installed 160,000 robots worldwide, including 28,000 in North America. Motoman's robots are used in arc welding, assembly, clean room, coating, dispensing, and material handling applications.