The Monty, January 2004 Issue

The note below tells how Bob Connell, a long time Vac Aero (new Vacuum Furnaces) employee is retiring. I will add that I’ve known Bob for a lot of years and he is an absolute top notch individual. I will also add that I wish I could show you the photos from his going away party but I received dire warnings about what would happen if I did. Dec. 5/03

"A VAC AERO legend has decided to retire. After more than 28 years with the company, Bob Connell will be taking up a life of leisure at the end of this year. Bob started with VAC AERO in 1975 as an electrician in the Furnace Manufacturing Division. In the early days, Bob had to be a jack-of-all-trades. The company relied heavily on all his skills not only to build and install furnaces, but also to keep the heat treat shops running in both Oakville and Montreal. Furthermore, he supervised a seemingly never-ending series of building expansions and equipment additions as VAC AERO grew. From the shop floor, Bob worked his way up to Manager of the Furnace Manufacturing Division. With a wealth of technical knowledge and a natural talent for closing the sale, Bob was instrumental in expanding the global market for VAC AERO furnace equipment. He has traveled the world many times on behalf of the company, maybe even visiting a pub here and there along the way. While Bob will be truly missed, we wish him the best in his soon to be fulltime role as husband, father and grandfather. We still hope to see quite a bit of him, as he has agreed to remain on call to assist VAC AERO when needed. And who knows, maybe we’ll occasionally run into him at a pub here and there."