Meet John Ludeman

posted On Tuesday, June 4, 2024 in Blog

John Ludeman, Advanced Heat Treat Corp.

Q&As with John Ludeman

John, you just celebrated your 10-year anniversary with AHT. Congratulations! Tell us about some of the changes/additions you’ve seen at AHT since you first started.

The biggest change in my ten years has been the increase in gas nitriding capacity. We have also continued to develop and upgrade our ion nitride units with the end goal of product improvement and faster turnaround times for our customers.

Prior to working in the heat treat industry, you worked in the aerospace industry. Tell us about your background there.

I have worked in the Aerospace industry as a Materials Engineer, Heat Treat Engineer or in Quality during my almost 30 years of working after college. I worked for the Boeing Company, Hamilton Sundstrand, and UTC Aerospace systems which is now Collins Aerospace.

You’re involved in numerous professional groups. Tell us about some of them.

I am a voting member of AMEC, which is the Aerospace Metals and Engineering committee. We meet every 4 months to provide the aerospace industry, government agencies, and the public, with the technical benefits of a synergistic exchange of ideas from a vast diverse and experienced team of people. I am also a voting member for the Nadcap Heat Treat group.

You also are involved in the community, volunteering, coaching, fundraising, etc. Can you elaborate on that?

I have been coaching women’s softball for a number of years. My daughter started playing softball when she was 10. Travel ball started at age 12 and I was coaching with some other parents. I took over the next year as head coach and have been doing since. This journey may be close to being over, but it has been a very exciting part of my life.

John Ludeman Coaching

When you’re not working or volunteering, how do you like to spend your free time?

I love to travel with my family, so I try to schedule trips as much as possible. I also try and attend a college football game with my high school friends from time to time. COVID derailed this some, but we are trying to make it happen again this year.

What is one thing people may not know about John Ludeman?

I love to garden. Before moving to Iowa, I had a large garden. I have had to put this on hold, but will start this hobby again when I can.

What is one thing people may not know about AHT?

We are consistently working on improving our processes and offerings to our customers. We are proactive on finding ways to help our customers succeed and find solutions that they are looking for.

What can AHT customers expect to see from AHT in the coming year?

We are continuing to evaluate where and how we can expand the company. This may be expansions to current facilities or taking on new capabilities. We continue to grow at all our locations and space is always at a premium. We also have a renewed focus on Continuous Improvement and Lean. Where can we drive waste out of our current operations.

AHT’s mission statement is “Exceeding expectations with UltraGlowing results.” Can you explain what this translates to for our customers and employees?

You know how you feel when a company or person does something unexpected like send you a note of thanks, or goes that extra mile that you were totally not expecting? Maybe bringing over a meal during a tough time for your family. This is what we strive to do for our customers and employees. Doing the extra and the little things that make them have that same feeling of “wow…they didn’t have to do this but I’m sure glad they did.”

In your opinion, what sets AHT apart from the competition?

Our commitment to having experienced employees at all levels of the organization. We have almost 50% percent of our employees with greater than 10 years of service. We support continuing education and training. We support advancement within our current employees and want everybody to succeed.

AHT has several events throughout the year for employees. What's one of your favorite events?

Each Fall we do a tailgate event that has a plantwide corn hole tournament with prizes for top three teams. Employees are encouraged to wear their favorite college or pro team colors. We have food and enjoy each other away from shop. We do this for all shifts so everybody can participate. I love this event.

According to Gallup’s CliftonStrengths® Assessment, what are your top 5 strengths?

Achiever, Maximizer, Communication, Ideation, Woo

As one of my strengths is communication, I feel this resonates with how AHT is an industry leader in communications with our customers. We stress the importance of getting face to face and knowing what is happening with our customers. Having great communications with them gives us a competitive advantage.

Now, a series of quick random questions:

Your Educational Background: Master Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines
Favorite Movie: Fletch
First Job: Paper carrier
Favorite Food: Italian
Least Favorite Food: Fish
Favorite Vacation: I love going to new places
Favorite Sport: Football
Favorite Team: The Nebraska Cornhuskers
Role Model or Person You Admire: Jimmy Carter
Bucket List Experience: Travel to Greece