Friday, April 7, 2023
I worked with Ernie (as we knew him then) at Westinghouse/ABB from'85 to '92. He was in charge of all engineering matters in the fabrication department. He was always very well-respected among engineers and production staff. Nothing would happen in fabrication without an approval from Ernie, who seemed to know every machine and process thoroughly. Ernie brought the Amada automatic punch to Westinghouse, which soon became the most essential machine in the plant, thundering along day and night, stamping out the tank bodies that would become part of transformers to be shipped all over Canada. Chris Pudupakkam programmed the Amada and he and Ernie made a great team. I was a junior engineer then and Ernie was senior, with a wealth of knowledge of how things were done at Westinghouse and of mechanical engineering in general. Almost every conversation I had with Ernie resulted in my learning something useful.
After ABB closed in '92, I would bump into Ernie approximately once a year. The huge staff of ABB became an extended family and we would catch up on who was doing what in the decades that followed. I was surprised to find that Ernie was a member of the German Baltic club, knew the Jacobsens (good friends of mine) and sometimes went by the name of Holger.
My condolences to Ernie's family and friends....may he rest in peace.
Ray Givens
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