James Thomas’ colleagues at Enterprise Minnesota value his skilled and personable expertise from two decades of experience in manufacturing as he helps clients earn crucial certifications, even under sometimes-intense pressure.
James, who was hired at Enterprise in January 2022 after about 20 years in manufacturing and quality control, has helped a wide range of manufacturers earn ISO certifications. He can do the same for a variety of ISO standards, such as production part approval processes –– PPAPs –– environmental regulations, aerospace and medical standards, among others.
“His experience helps him really connect with the people on the floor,” says Bob Kill, Enterprise Minnesota’s president and CEO.
Thomas has worked in quality assurance in the aerospace, automotive, and medical fields. He’s helped make offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom for Siemens Wind Power, and, more recently, he oversaw quality and compiled sustainability reports for Nilfisk, a company that makes motorized sweepers found in airport concourses across the world. A single father of three, Thomas was briefly a self-employed contractor before heading to Enterprise Minnesota, which lured him with the promise of a flexible schedule, state insurance benefits, and working from home.
Kill says Thomas’ broad capabilities were immediately evident when he introduced himself to his new colleagues at Enterprise Minnesota. “We all realized his expertise broadened the services we could help our clients obtain. I don’t think we completely knew the incredible depth that he brought with him,” Kill says.
Eagan-based Shield Technologies Corporation earned its ISO certification thanks in part to Thomas’ handiwork. The company’s “anti-corrosive covers” are meant to keep equipment dry underneath like a tarp, but, unlike a tarp, are breathable enough to keep moisture from accumulating underneath, too. A vapor corrosion inhibitor layer in each cover forces water out through the membrane. The covers are meant for the military, as well as oil, gas, and construction companies.
Thomas helped staff consolidate their documentation ahead of their pre-certification audit and fit it to ISO standards.
“When you first go into it, it’s like this giant mountain that you’ve got to climb,” says Caleb Sabroski, a project engineer at Shield. “James makes it look like it’s just a hill.”
The company earned its ISO certification in September 2024.
Thomas also recently helped ForwardEdge ASIC, a small subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, earn AS9100 certification, a valuable standard for the aerospace industry.
“To do business, everybody requires an ISO 9001 certification,” explains Tom Scanlon, lead ISO implementor. “When you move into the military and defense space, they require this higher level of certification.”
Earning that certification meant that ForwardEdge staff needed to define their procedures, their “process flows,” and create different “quality manuals.” Thomas helped company staff formalize a list of key customers and partners, determine key performance indicators, and identify potential risks.
“James was instrumental in helping bring up the customer’s perspective,” Scanlon says.
The company earned its AS9100 certification in November 2024. Thomas helped the company note and fix flaws in its processes, Scanlon says. Thomas also conducted an internal audit of the company before it applied for the real-deal audit that would determine whether it earned the aerospace certificate.
It was a ForwardEdge staffer who first compared Thomas to a Swiss Army knife, whose multiutility of blades transform a simple pocketknife into a highly adaptable toolkit.
Thomas thinks a more appropriate simile might be firefighter –– someone who answers the figurative alarms as companies try to earn or re-up a crucial certification.
Take, for instance, the leaders at a motor manufacturer who feared they would fail an imminent audit for an aerospace certification. Thomas helped them revamp their entire quality control system beforehand, and the company now has the certification.
Or consider the water filter manufacturer that wanted an ISO certification but hadn’t had a quality control manager in about a year and needed help getting the company’s documentation in order before a pre-certification audit.
Both companies, with Thomas’ help, passed their audits. Thomas says he can take on risky contracts, and he feel confident that he can shepherd the company through challenges.
“Not only do they pass their audit,” Thomas says of those clients, “but they pass with no findings.”
Return to the Spring 2025 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
