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MiMfg Magazine
November 2019
2019 MFG Woman of the Year
Donna Russell-Kuhr
PTM Corporation • Ira
Imagine someone so critical to a business, to a
community and to an industry that people say losing
her would be like taking oxygen from a room.
That’s Donna Russell-Kuhr and that’s what she has
come to mean to PTM Corporation, St. Clair County
and Michigan’s manufacturing sector. Her traits are what
you would want from any leader — energy, passion, vision,
dedication and kindness. She looks at the world the way
she thinks it should be, not the way it is, then pushes
herself, her team and her community to make it happen.
“Manufacturing is in my blood — it’s what my dad
did and it’s what my sisters and I are doing and the third
generation have already started to gather and join us
in the ranks,” Russell-Kuhr said, enthusiasm evident.
“Everybody has some special talent. This is who I am.”
Russell-Kuhr seeks to build connections everywhere
and everyone close to her becomes part of an extended
family. A second-generation co-owner of PTM
Corporation along with her three sisters, Russell-Kuhr
would have excelled anywhere but it’s no surprise
that she chose manufacturing.
“I would come here with my dad and help run
presses, clean floors and machines, I got my driver’s
license as early as I could to help as a truck driver here,”
Russell-Kuhr recalled. “When it’s a small family
business, you do whatever it takes — you roll up
your sleeves and dive in.”
Today, the slogan at PTM Corporation is We
make magic with metal. But the magic doesn’t happen
out of nowhere. It comes from hard work, years of
sacrifice and a team that Donna Russell-Kuhr
believes in, trusts and loves to her core.
“I truly feel I have the best team around. They
each have the drive to succeed in their areas and that’s
what makes us go,” said Russell-Kuhr. “Nobody
does manufacturing alone — it’s not a career you can
just turn off when you leave for the night. It doesn’t
shut off. It’s a lifestyle; you either love it or you don’t
and I surround myself with the ones who love it.”
With so many jobs needing to be filled, manu-
facturing is a career where young women can thrive
and advance in perhaps now more than ever. For
Russell-Kuhr, it’s just a matter of how you reach
them and keep them interested.
“I was always intrigued by how manufacturers help
solve people’s problems,” she said. “It’s easy to do easy
things but problems are rarely easy — they are complex.
Being able to help someone overcome a problem
and giving them that ‘Aha!’ moment is gratifying.”
Manufacturing is among the most rapidly changing
industries in the world. From the way it connects with
customers to the technology being invented and re-
adapted every day, there are countless routes into the
industry. Whether you want to work with your hands,
manage a business, interact with people or have an
accounting, legal or sales background, manufacturing
has a place for you.
To help locate the next generation of skilled female
leaders — and men as well — Russell-Kuhr makes sure
the PTM brand is everywhere. They sponsor FIRST
Robotics, participate in MFG Day, go into schools
and invite their community to come and explore. They
participate in local charities and Russell-Kuhr is a big
supporter for A Beautiful Me, a charity dedicated to
building up the self-esteem and self-worth in young
women and provide them a visible path to become
community leaders, business leaders and positive
role models.
“Manufacturing is amazing,” Russell-Kuhr will
often exclaim, the excitement in her voice palpable. “The
stuff that happens out there, we’re the backbone of
America. We make stuff. We create stuff. How many
people can say they live each day creating something?”
Once she starts talking about manufacturing, it’s
hard for her to stop. The passion for it is in her eyes.
“You have to be out there. People drive by manufac-
turing all the time and never know what is happening
inside,” she admitted. “The sky really is the limit for
women entering our field, but we have to do our part.
Be a mentor at high schools, middle schools, elementary
schools — the sooner the better — and show them
what is possible, what dreams they can chase, and
there is a path to get there.”
Now honored for her efforts and her drive to
ensure manufacturing’s future is better than its past,
she can’t help but look back at a lifetime spent doing
what she loves.
“When I found out that I’d been selected as the
MFG Woman of the Year, to be honest, 37 years flashed
before my eyes,” she said, recalling a career worth
celebrating. “It’s not easy to do what we do. Our
customers, our suppliers and my amazing team — I’m
just so grateful to them. The work we do is so demanding
but it also has so many rewards. Getting this award,
it brings back all the good memories and all the
things we’ve overcome and it focuses me on where I
want us to go. I’m just very thankful.”
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