New Carotek Team Members - Q1 2023

The newest member of our Field Service team is Matt Falls. Matt’s professional experience includes five (5) years with JW Electric as an Electrician and two (2) years with Colonial Plumbing & Heating as a Plumbing Assistant. Working primarily out of Virginia, he reports to Bill Burton.

Originally from Colonial Heights, VA Matt enjoys snowboarding, hunting, fishing and razor riding. He and his wife, Rebekah, also enjoy traveling, especially to various islands for scuba diving expeditions, with St. Lucia as a favorite destination spot. Their life is about to change...as they are expecting their first child in July.

Rinat Shakirov joins the Systems Integration Group. He fills a role of Control Panel Technician.

Rinat’s background is quite extensive having been a Lead Engineer with JSC Power Machines (the largest Russian manufacturer of power machines and turbines for electric power stations), CJSK Bumtechno (a leading provider of engineering services for pulp and paper mills), and Senior Specialist on Vibration Control for an industrial automation systems company. Rinat is a degreed Engineer from Saint-Petersburg Institute of Machine Building where he studied hydraulic machines, hydraulic drive, and hydro-pneumatic automatics.

Originally from St. Petersburg, Rinat and his family have made NC their home. A bicycling enthusiast, Rinat and his family have camped and bicycled their way throughout Europe. Although enjoying each country for its uniqueness, Spain is a particular favorite place for him due to the friendly nature of the people and the food. In his spare time, he enjoys playing bicycle polo, painting small cars and watching movies.

James Mason joins the Systems Integration Group as a Control Panel Technician. James brings 10 years of related experience having held positions of Assembly Operator at TE Connectivity, Line Replaceable Unit Assembly Technician at Piedmont Aviation Component Services, and Setup Technician at Pass & Seymour/Legrand.

Originally from Greensboro, NC, James and his wife, Chimere, have three children who are very much involved in sports – basketball, volleyball and football. All three sports hold a special place and occupy a lot of time for James, with basketball at the top. Although a Tarheels fan, he’s an even bigger fan of UNC Asheville, where his oldest son attends on a basketball scholarship. Winning their conference, we know what NCAA tournament game James will be watching tomorrow night when UNCA faces UCLA. Let’s all cheer on his son, Silas #5. When not in the bleachers, James enjoys shooting pool, movie going and traveling to the beach. Bucket list destination: Belize.

Trinity Love joins the Virginia Products Group. Trinity is an Inside Sales Representative primarily focusing on the National Basic Sensor, Instrucon and Pyromation product lines with back up support to Dynisco, Gefran, Eurotherm and Watlow. She reports to Craig Parker.

A Henrico, VA native, Trinity attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond where she recently attained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering. Design projects included the design, simulation and creation of a single-dose powdered albuterol inhaler aimed to create a cost-effective solution for lower-income communities and uninsured asthma patients, ergonomic design of a playground, and analyzing sensor systems to measure pressure at the stump-socket of transfemoral amputees to evaluate patient comfort.

Trinity is an active member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity focused on promoting leadership, friendship, and service throughout the Richmond community. An avid reader, her favorite genres are science fiction, fantasy and dystopian novels. Gardening is a favorite hobby growing edibles – tomatoes, blueberries, onions, garlic, carrots and more!

Joining Carotek as a CAD Designer in the Systems Integration Group, is Steven St. Gelais. 

A Matthews, NC native, Steven recently attained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His team’s Capstone project was the design of a portable hydration monitor for Duke Energy and they received 2nd place for Best Project. Steven has a creative side to him, enjoying photography and videography. He is a licensed drone pilot and has done various freelance work for Aerial Productions – Charlotte. An active learner, when not reading or flying drones, mountain biking, gardening and audio system design occupy his spare time.

Terry Simpson joins as Controller to replace Tara Snyder when she retires later this year. Terry brings a wealth of knowledge to the group with his extensive finance, supply chain and ERP experience. Prior to joining us, he held the position of General Manager/Controller of Rite Lite Signs where he was responsible for all financial procedures and functions, leading system reimplementation for their ERP and driving improvement through process standardization. At ATI Metals, a global leader in the manufacturing of specialty metals, Terry held a variety of positions including, Director of Supply Chain, Director of Finance, Integration Program Director, Assistant Controller and Director of Cost Accounting.

Originally from Indianapolis, Terry attained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Indiana University. His career has taken him to Cleveland and Philadelphia and now calls the Charlotte area his home. He and his wife, Susan, have three grown children who are also in the area and NC college graduates – UNC Chapel Hill, App State and Elon University. When not spending time with family, hobbies include hiking, gardening, building bird houses and watching sports.

Please welcome Jason Tisdale to the organization. Jason fills the role of Account Manager for Mechanical Products Group in the Eastern, TN territory and reports to Ken McCall.

Bringing 15+ years’ of experience in an Account Manager capacity, previous employers include Airgas USA, Motion Industries and Fastenal.

Originally from Florence, SC, Jason studied Finance at Coastal Carolina University, which is where he met his wife, Amy. They have four children ages 15, 10, 6 and 3. Volleyball, softball, dance, piano and other activities keep them quite busy. When spare time can be found, Jason enjoys playing golf, duck and turkey hunting, fishing, hiking and going to the movies.

Welcome to the team!