Douglas Winther celebrates 50 years with Technical Devices Company

Torrance, CA – March 12, 2013 On March 12, 1963; Douglas Winther began working at Technical Devices Company as a shop helper. Mrs. Margret Winther gave her 18 year old son some advice that day as he headed off to his first job, “When you are at work – work hard. Get there before your boss does and leave after your boss leaves.”

Doug applied that advice and earned promotion after promotion. He worked his way up from shop helper to assembler to buyer to plant manager to sales manager to president. In 1985, Doug became the owner of Technical Devices Company.

During his tenure at Technical Devices Company, Doug has made significant contributions to the PCB assembly field. He helped develop the Nu/Clean family of batch and inline aqueous cleaners as well as the Nu/Era line of wave soldering machines. He holds patents in both wave soldering and inline cleaning. He has been honored many times with awards for his business contributions as well as philanthropic contributions.

Doug’s true talents are his ability to lead a company through good economies and bad ones. During the difficult years following 9/11 and the shift of manufacturing to overseas markets, Technical Devices Company did not lay off a single employee. This was largely due to Doug’s tenacity to find new business and expand the company while most others were closing their doors.

Doug sees where the industry is heading and works hard to get out in front of the changing times. He inspires employee loyalty by treating each employee like family. Many Technical Devices’ employees have over 20 years with the company. Many of Technical Devices’ customers are long time partners and can share many great stories of Doug selling them their first machine decades ago and how his company still supports those machines.

Doug enjoys being involved in the daily operations of Technical Devices Company and the interactions he has with his employees and customers. From his twice a week racquetball matches with his Buying Manager (who is half his age) to his many trips to visit longtime customers and to cultivate new relationships with some of the biggest companies in the world, Doug is not slowing down at all. He has put together a great team of professionals at Technical Devices Company and is looking forward to many more successful years at the helm.