Bill Merkel and Michael Kress leadership in firmware and embedded engineering

Announcement in Executive Alignment, Reflecting Strong Growth and Business Outlook

Brecksville, Ohio — April 23, 2024 — USA Firmware, LLC announces a new, progressive executive leadership alignment, reflecting the company’s tremendous growth in recent years, and solidly positioning the 13-year-old firm for the future.

Bill Merkel has been named President of USA Firmware. Since joining the company in 2022 as Vice President of Business Development, Bill has demonstrated strong leadership in driving business results, helping lead USA Firmware to significant growth and business momentum. In this expanded role, Bill will take over managing the day-to-day operations of the company, in addition to his ongoing leadership of the company’s business development activities.

Bill joined USA Firmware in 2022 as Vice President of Business Development. He has nearly 40 years of experience in product development, industrial automation, semiconductors and electric vehicle charging innovation. His previous positions at Nidec Industrial Solutions, DynaMotors, Inc. and Keithley Instruments, Inc. have prepared him to lead growth and technology development for the organization.

Bob Scaccia, founder of USA Firmware, will maintain his position as CEO, dedicating his efforts on strategic direction, business development, and nurturing the engineering culture of USA Firmware. Bob formed the company in 2011 out of his passion for the art of firmware design. He graduated with a BSEE in Electrical Engineering and quickly built a career that would lead him to become an expert in his field and a visionary entrepreneur in the industry. His past work experience includes design management and leadership roles in firmware with organizations Raytheon, Philips (formerly Picker International), Keithley Instruments and Thermo Scientific.

Bob is a key industry voice on the importance of firmware as an essential engineering discipline and is a tireless advocate on such issues as finding and training the right engineering talent to support transformational product development in today’s digital world.

Michael A. Kress has been promoted to Vice President of Engineering. Michael joined USA Firmware in 2023 as Engineering Manager, and since then has demonstrated exceptional leadership of his engineering teams, a keen attention to customer needs, the ability to assist in all aspects of business execution, and acute prowess for managing critical and time-sensitive projects.

Michael has 40 years of experience in leadership, product development, system, hardware, and software engineering. He was one of the three founders of Applied Vision and helped to grow the organization into a world leader of machine vision systems for the food and beverage market.

“When I founded USA Firmware back in 2011, I could see our potential,” says Bob Scaccia, CEO, USA Firmware. “I am thrilled that our teams have exceeded my expectations, and this new leadership alignment reflects my optimism for the future and helps ensure USA Firmware is well-positioned to continue our vision of growth and service to our customers. Bill and Michael are stellar leaders, and as a team, we will continue to do great things.”

If you are interested in learning more about USA Firmware, please reach out to Bill Merkel at bill.merkel@usafirmware.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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