Our Staff
MilAIR has assembled well known and highly experienced engineers in the ECS industry.
Listed below are the professional biographies of the Key Personnel:
Bruce J. Burton—President
Mr. Burton received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University. He has 31 years of intensive design/analysis/build experience of special purpose vehicles for commercial and military use. Mr. Burton served as Chief Engineer of PSI Mobile Products, then as Vice-President of Engineering of McGraw Commercial Equipment Company. He founded Burtek, Inc. in 1987 as equity owner and President. Under Mr. Burton’s leadership Burtek grew into a profitable $100 million company. In 2005 Mr. Burton saw a need for a military thermal products company that could design and build highest quality/high reliability air conditioners for rugged military applications. He started a new company called MilAIR. During that same year Mr. Burton sold his ownership of Burtek and in doing so, decided to spin-off MilAIR as a fully owned LLC. Today, Mr. Burton is again focusing is talents and leadership on the building MilAIR into the nation’s premier manufacturing company of military thermal products.
John Lyons, Director of Sales
Mr. Lyons is a 1977 graduate of Miami University College of Engineering. He has 30 years of engineering experience in all phases of special purpose Heat Transfer and Environmental Control Systems. Mr. Lyons was the project engineer/ manager for a number of high profile programs such as, US Army 36K and 60K Standard Lightweight Air Conditioner, Merkava and Paladin Micro-Climate Cooling System, Hawk Missile System ECU, Minuteman Missile and Payload Transporters, ASDS Chiller, and Bradley Medical Vehicle. Mr. Lyons previously held the positions of Test and Design Manager at Keco Industries, Engineering Manager at Ellis and Watts International and Director of Product Development at Engineered Environments.
Mike Hess, Engineering Manager
Mr. Hess has over 20 years of experience in the design, development and testing of Environmental Control Units and Filtration Systems. Prior employment includes 6 years at Ellis and Watts Div. of Dynamics Corp. of America, where he served as Project engineer and 14 years at Engineered Environments Inc. where he was Engineering Manager. Mr. Hess has extensive experience in military HVAC and refrigeration system design, heat transfer, military environmental testing, ground support equipment design, reliability/maintainability engineering, and military technical documentation. Mr. Hess earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
Keith Gillis, Plant Manager
Keith is a 1983 graduate of Purdue University’s School of Industrial Engineering BSIE and a 2002 cum laude graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s full-time MBA program. He has 26 years of manufacturing experience, including 12 in engineering project management and 14 in operational management. Before joining Mil Air in the 2008, Keith has worked in the automotive, electrical-mechanical, steel and food industries. Company experience includes Square D Company, Franklin Brazing, Material Science Corporation (MSC), Frito-Lay and General Mills.
Randy Stemen PE, Project Engineer
Mr. Stemen is a 1979 graduate of The Ohio State University BSME, and a 1984 graduate of the University of Dayton, MBA. He has 30 years of engineering experience, including 12 years in custom-engineered refrigerant handling equipment and 11 years in the aerospace industry, specializing in engine pneumatic and hydraulic systems.
Randy joined MilAIR after working with DRS Thermal Products. Prior to that, he worked with Sterling Production Control Units in Dayton, Ohio and GE Aircraft Engines, Controls and Components, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Craig Shores, Senior Project Engineer
Mr. Shore holds a BSME for Penn State University and a MSME from UCLA. Craig has extensive experience in commercial air conditioning and heat transfer. He previously worked for York International, Ingersoll Rand and Mammoth Inc. as a project engineer developing liquid chillers, rooftop air conditioning systems and transportation refrigeration equipment. Prior to joining MilAIR, Craig was employed at GE Aircraft as a stress and thermodynamic analysis.
John Christensen, Senior Design Engineer
Mr. Christensen is a graduate of University of Cincinnati OCAS College. He has been involved with the design, and development of military air conditioning systems for over thirty years. Mr. Christensen began his career with Ellis and Watts as a Design Engineer, and later as The Thermal Design Supervisor. Mr. Christensen spent an additional 6 years as a Senior Design Engineer with Engineered Environments Inc. where he developed expertise with AutoCAD 3D and Pro E Modeling.
Dennis Crowe, Purchasing Manager
Mr. Crowe is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a 1979 graduate of Cincinnati Metropolitan College with a degree in Business Management and Marketing. He has 30 Years purchasing experience as a buyer, senior buyer and purchasing manager in the custom HVAC manufacturing of military equipment. That includes 14 years with Ellis & Watts, 14 years with DRS Thermal Products and with MilAIR since March, 2007 as Purchasing Manager.