Henrik Christensen, Director of Robotics, Georgia Institute of Technology; Chuck Keibler, Vice President, Genesis Systems Group, LLC; and Pete Squires, Vice President, Schneider Packaging Equipment Company

(Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA - February 21, 2013) The 2013 RIA Board of Directors was announced today during the Robotics Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida. The following robotic industry leaders join the board for their first two-year terms:

*Henrik Christensen, Director of Robotics, Georgia Institute of Technology

*Chuck Keibler, Vice President, Genesis Systems Group, LLC

*Pete Squires, Vice President, Schneider Packaging Equipment Company

"RIA is now over 300 members strong," said Catherine Morris, Chair of the RIA Board and Director of Automotive Sales, ATI Industrial Automation. "I'm eager to continue growing our organization with this great group of dedicated board members. I welcome our new board members who I'm sure will provide an enthusiastic voice to the future of our association and industry. The board will continue building on the successes that we have experienced as an organization."

Morris is joined on the RIA Executive Committee by Past Chair Dean Elkins, Yaskawa Motoman; First Vice Chair Stu Shepherd, KUKA Robotics; Second Vice Chair John Dulchinos, Adept Technology; Secretary Curtis Richardson, Spirit Aerosystems; and RIA President Jeff Burnstein.

Re-elected to new two-year terms for 2013-14 are Tim DeRosett, Motoman Robotics; Joe Gemma, Staubli Robotics; Joyce Guthrie, USPS; Dana Komin, General Motors; Mark Lewandowski, Procter & Gamble; and Steve Rock, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Kirk Goins, Comau Robotics, was appointed by the board to the remaining one year left of an open term. Scot Lindemann, JR Automation, was re-appointed by the board to a two-year term as an at-large Director.

The remaining Board members for 2013 include John Bubnikovich, ABB Inc.; Mick Estes, FANUC Robotics America; and Michael Jacobs, Applied Manufacturing Technologies.

John Burg of Ellison Technologies Automation is retiring from the Board after eight years of dedicated service.

About RIA
Founded in 1974, RIA's organizations include leading robot manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, community colleges & universities, research groups, and consulting firms. RIA is best-known for developing the ANSI/RIA National Robot Safety Standard, collecting quarterly statistics on the North American robotics market, sponsoring the biennial Automate show and conference (March 23-26, 2015 in Chicago), hosting the annual Robotics Industry Forum (January 22-24, 2014 in Orlando), and producing Robotics Online, the world's leading resource for robotics information.

RIA is part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the not-for-profit umbrella association serving RIA, AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and the Motion Control Association (MCA). For more information on RIA, contact RIA Headquarters at 734/994-6088 or visit Robotics Online.