Bipin Doshi, president of Schafer Industries, has announced the appointment of Scott Childers as general manager of the company’s Gear Unit where he is responsible for the company’s three plant locations.

Schafer Industries’ Gear Unit has plants in South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Rockford, Illinois.  The company’s 108,000-square-foot South Bend location produces high-volume gears for a variety of industrial applications; the 45,000-square-foot Rockford, IL plant produces larger gears for heavy applications; and the 12,000-square-foot facility in Fort Wayne, IN, concentrates on high-precision, fine-pitch gears for aircraft and medical applications.  

Childers has 25 years of experience in medium and large organizations in roles that cross engineering, operations, and general management. Prior to joining Schafer Industries, Childers served in two significant roles at CTS Corporation in Elkhart, Indiana. As director of commercial engineering and operations, he introduced and launched a new electro-mechanical product line. As global director of purchasing and supplier development, he managed both cost and quality for their supply chain across seven plants globally.  Before joining CTS, he spent 19 years with General Motors/Delphi in progressive roles which took him to sights in Dayton, Ohio, Anderson, Indiana, Wichita Falls, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico.  

Childers has a bachelor of mechanical engineering degree from the University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, and a master of science in engineering and management from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as a reserve unit officer after graduating and commissioning from the ROTC program. He spent time as a 2nd Lieutenant and platoon leader for the Army Transportation Corp, as well as a 1st lieutenant and project manager for the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Schafer Industries also includes a Driveline Unit that operates two production facilities in Ohio. The 120,000-square-foot assembly plant in Fredericktown produces axles for leisure, all-terrain and utility vehicles; transmissions and transaxles for ATVs; and related off-highway brake components and assemblies.  The 30,000 square-foot facility in Blacklick produces aluminum gear housings, ductile iron differential cases and ductile iron brake components.