Roy Sweatman
President, Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Tampa
SMT is a custom precision manufacturer of parts and assemblies for the aircraft, aerospace, defense and medical industries. The company, which Sweatman has owned since 1983, started with five employees and now has 90. It generates about $20 million in sales. When there was a shortage of ventilators because of COVID, the company ramped up production of a part used in the ventilators from 160 parts per week to 1,800.
| EDUCATION | Journeyman’s machinist certificate |
| WOULD CHANGE About Florida | Traffic congestion |
| WORRIES ABOUT | The lack of available skilled people in manufacturing |
| Sabbatical Topic | I would probably study wine and try to pass the sommelier test. |
| READING | I have recently finished reading The Billionaire’s Vinegar, by Benjamin Wallace, and In Vino Duplicitas, by Peter Hellman. |