Jim Whalen is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Progressive Surface. Mr. Whalen has been involved with the shot peening process since 1987. Upon receiving his BSME, he joined General Electric and held several positions in both the Corporate Manufacturing Management Program and the Manufacturing Technology Laboratory (MTL) within GE Aircraft Engines. He gained shot peening expertise by developing new peening processes, tooling analytical analysis and inspection tools, and equipment to peen critical aircraft engine components. Mr. Whalen was instrumental in introducing NC peening to GE’s production division by specifying and installing new equipment, NC peening methods and operator training. During these assignments, he also received a MSME from the University of Cincinnati. In 1994, Mr. Whalen left GE to join Progressive Surface in 1993 as Manager of Process Engineering. In this position, Mr. Whalen developed and enhanced Progressive’s process experience to aid in the design and build of industry leading peening, blasting, and water jet machine tools.
Mr. Whalen received the 1993 Shot Peener of the Year award.