Morris Group, Inc. Announces Appointment of Hardinge Product Manager

March 29th, 2010

Morris Group, Inc. of Windsor, Connecticut has appointed Charlie Laraia to the position of Hardinge Product Manager.   Laraia has been employed by the Morris Group, Inc. family of companies since 1984.  In his new role, Laraia will serve as liaison between Hardinge, Inc. and the Morris Group, Inc. distributor network. 

Morris Group, Inc. was named one of three major machine tool distribution partners by Hardinge, Inc. in February of this year.  Laraia will oversee product marketing, product development, distributor support, and customer relations for all Hardinge brands, including Hardinge, Bridgeport, Kellenberger, Hauser and Tschudin.

In his previous positions at The Robert E. Morris Company and Rem Sales, LLC, Laraia served as Applications Engineer for fourteen years during which time he was responsible for developing, implementing and supporting custom turnkeys for manufacturers throughout North America.  He gained extensive experience working with the medical, automotive, aerospace, defense, and firearms industries and oversaw numerous Okuma and Tsugami technology installations.  Laraia was promoted to Rem Sales Product Manager in 1998, specializing in Tsugami milling and multifunction mill-turn machines, including the FMA and TMA Series as well as the TMU1.

"Charlie is a valuable member of Morris Group," stated Bradley R. Morris, President, Morris Group, Inc.  "He is well respected within and outside our company for his technical expertise and practical experience.  We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber leading our efforts with the Hardinge Group and working with customers throughout the Morris Group territories."

Under the terms of its distribution agreement with Hardinge, Inc., Morris Group, Inc. distributors sell and service all Hardinge brands in portions of twenty-one eastern and Midwestern states.  Morris Group, Inc. distributors representing the Hardinge brands are The Robert E. Morris Company, Morris TriState, Morris Great Lakes, Morris South and Morris Midwest.

"I am thrilled to work with Hardinge.  The company has a great reputation for building reliable, quality machines," Laraia said. “I am impressed by Hardinge's commitment and ongoing investment in developing new technology. Many of the customers I've worked with throughout the years already have Bridgeports and other Hardinge built machines on their shop floors.  I am looking forward to working with established Hardinge customers and introducing new customers to the line," Laraia added.

About Morris Group, Inc.: Morris Group, Inc. of Windsor, Connecticut is a privately held company.  It owns and operates fourteen divisions that supply CNC manufacturing technology and related engineering and support services to manufacturers throughout the U.S.  Its import, distribution, tooling and finance companies comprise one of the largest fully integrated networks of manufacturing resources in North America.  Morris Group, Inc.’s distribution territories are concentrated in the eastern half of the U.S., a region accounting for 65% of all CNC machine tools sales in the country. For more information, visit www.morrisgroupinc.com.

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Marketing Contact:
Jeff Boulden, Marketing Manager
Morris Group, Inc.
910 Day Hill Road
Windsor, CT  06095
jboulden@morrisgrpinc.com

 

Media Contact:
Jane McAlpine, Marketing Communications Manager
Morris Group, Inc.
910 Day Hill Road
Windsor, CT  06095
jmcalpine@morrisgrpinc.com