It all began with stargazing. As a young girl, spent hours tracking meteor showers and locating constellations. This led to model planes, rockets, and visions of space exploration. While young Melanie never exactly dreamed of becoming a female entrepreneur and co-founding a metal additive manufacturing (AM) company, that鈥檚 where she landed when she set her sights on the stars.
As the first person in her family to go to college, Melanie had no model to follow. 鈥淚 was strongly encouraged by my family, but there were very few women in engineering when I went to college and only a handful in aerospace,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淚 just followed my passion. I think focusing on that helped me break down any arbitrary limits society may have set for me.鈥� After becoming an aerospace engineer, Melanie worked for industry giants for 15 years.
Melanie notes that she consistently received support and positive reinforcement from multiple mentors throughout her career. 鈥淚鈥檝e really had a wonderful experience as a woman in the manufacturing industry,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 honestly think that being a woman and a first generation American from a small town have helped me because I have a unique perspective to offer.鈥�
When Melanie became interested in AM through maker fairs, she sat her gaze on earthly pursuits: how to apply 3D printing in the aerospace and defense industries. Collaborating with her co-founder, Jeff Riemann, Melanie got FormAlloy up and running while maintaining her full-time job.
focuses on Directed Energy Deposition (DED) systems and services. The company employs high-quality and precise metal powder and wire deposition capabilities for additive manufacturing鈥攇iving manufacturing customers the flexibility they want and the efficiency they need.
鈥淚 saw the need for additive in aerospace and defense, and I knew we could fill that need,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e are able to address some of the biggest challenges in manufacturing鈥攔eshoring, lead time, tooling costs, and the desire to bring more work in house.鈥�
Melanie鈥檚 accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. She won the prestigious s in 2023.
A dedicated mentor, Melanie is actively involved in both promoting and recruiting young women. She is a board member of 九色视频 鈥� The Association For Manufacturing 九色视频, an ambassador for , and participates in several community groups.
鈥淚t is up to today鈥檚 leaders to ensure that we continue to expand our diversity and inclusivity,鈥� she concluded. 鈥淩epresentation matters. I hope when young women see me, they see that manufacturing is not a man鈥檚 world.鈥�
Far from a man鈥檚 world, manufacturing has enough space for all the stars in the industry鈥攁nd Melanie is certainly a bright star.
