Comments
2020 Update:
Yes, we did get married and live happily ever after.
I want a refund on 2020, I detected a virus and I want a New Year and it better be virus-free.
Fortunatley were are both healthy and safe. I still work (approximately) 40 hours week at Electronics Inc. I'm on Boards for South Bend Symphony, South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend Civic Theater, South Bend Alumni Association, and Purdue Club of Saint Joseph Valley. I'm still active with organizations involving metal fatigue: International Scientific Committee on Shot Peening, SAE Surface Enhancement Committee, Purdue Center for Surface Engineering and Enhancement.
The Pandemic has played havoc with the symphony and theater schedules.
Update: July 2022 Still working at Electronics Inc but looking into retirement. In Feb of 2024 I will have been at EI for 50 years, but I never got a promotion.
2023 Update: We survived another year and look forward to my 80th Birthday with twin brother Jim.
I'm still working (almost) full-time trying to understand the material properties of steel. It's a long story. We sell 3-4 million pieces of test strips each year and we strive to get consistent performance but that illudes us. I am working with Purdue University Center for Surface Engineering and Enhancement and hope to solve the problem by the end of 2023.
I still maintain the (7) websites for the South Bend schools. Jim scans the yearbook photos (over 100,000 so far), and I scan the newspapers. I recently received a batch of Riley Review to scan and upload. It takes about one hour to scan, run OCR and reduce the file size and then post to the website. As Snoopy once said "There better be a chocolate chip cookie at the end of the trail".
2025 PURDUE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF Materials Engineering
NOMINATION FOR DISTINGUISHED ENGINEERING ALUMNUS AWARD
Summary Statement: The School of Materials Engineering is pleased to nominate Mr. Jack Champaigne for the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in recognition of his contributions and demonstrated excellence in advancing the global field of shot peening as a surface engineering technique. The science, engineering, and practical applications of shot peening developed by Mr. Champaigne have had a direct impact on critical components in the automotive, aerospace and a multitude of other industries. These technological advances, as well as his commitment to providing education about the technology on a global scale, have been the cornerstones of his career. Mr. Champaigne has spent more than 50 years gaining a thorough understanding of the history, theory, specifications and practical applications and his vast knowledge makes him the leading industry expert in this critically important, yet relatively unheralded, field. Every automotive axle, turbine shaft, and landing gear is shot peened (for performance, reliability, or meeting military specifications), and yet most engineers are not familiar with the process, or just know it as a specification that is required. Mr. Champaigne has worked tirelessly for decades to both improve the process, formalize standards through professional societies, and educate practitioners about the technique.
Mr. Champaigne received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1968. After graduation, he went to work for X-CEI Control where he served as a Vice President, designing and building electronic products for automation, air pollution controls, and punch press safety controls. After nearly five years with the company, he moved to a new position as a Manufacturing Engineer with Torrington Bearings.
In 1974, Mr. Champaigne founded Electronics Incorporated (EI) to assist other companies with a long-standing industrial processing technology called “shot peening.” EI is both a manufacturer of products that improve the quality and control of shot peening and blast cleaning processes as well as a provider of services and training to improve a client’s shot peening operations. Over the past 50 years EI has grown from a startup to an industry leader. Based in a 24,0000 square foot facility in Mishawaka, Indiana, EI’s product line includes media flow control valves (the MagnaValve®) for air and wheel blast machines, media flow monitors, certified Almen test strips and Almen gages. EI has 28 employees, and annual sales on the order of $12M/year. Their products are used in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, and other manufacturing applications. Additionally, EI offers training services and educational programs around the world that are attended by hundreds of participants annually. Over 3,000 individuals have received a certification via these programs. Some of the participants in these training events obtain FAA certificates as operators who are certified to perform peening required for U.S. aircraft airworthiness qualifications; EI was the first company to offer a training program directly serving the FAA specifications. EI’s global brand in shot peening is unparalleled, and Mr. Champaigne stands not only as the face of EI, but the face of the shot peening industry as evidenced by his long-standing tenure as the Chairman of the two SAE committees which oversee the technical documentation which certifies standards used across the shot peening industry. This has occurred due to his passion (and persistence) to provide technically advanced products of the highest quality. His success has been sustained by his commitment to excellence in all aspects of EI’s business.
Name: Jack Champaigne
Business Address: 56790 Magnetic Dr, Mishawaka, IN 46545
Education: BS, Electrical Engineering, Purdue University,1968
Employment:
1974 – present: President, Electronics Incorporated
Founder Electronics Inc, began by supplying air pollution controls to the US Steel Mills, expanded other control and processing systems in 1978, and now is a world-wide leader in shot peening technology
1975-1978: Manufacturing Engineer, Torrington Bearings
1969-1973: Vice President, X-CEI Control
Professional Leadership and Service:
1990 Member of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
1993 Member International Scientific Committee on Shot Peening (ISCSP)
1996 Chairman, SAE Surface Enhancement Division FD&E
1996 ISCSP Conference Chair San Francisco
1998 Member of the SAE Aerospace Engineering Materials Committee (AMEC)
2008 (AMEC) Chair of Aerospace Surface Enhancement Sub-Committee
2009 Elected to SAE Materials Parts and Processes Council
2009 Elected Chair of SAE Surface Enhancement Committee
2011 (ISCSP) Conference Chairman and Host, South Bend, IN
2012 Established SAE Aerospace Surface Enhancement Committee
Awards and Recognition:
1974 Small Business Seminar Speaker University of Notre Dame
1993 ISO 9000 Seminar Indiana University at South Bend
1997 Ella Morris Society of South Bend Symphony
2002 Performance Review Institute (NADCAP) Recognition Award
2010 SAE International ESC Outstanding Achievement Award Honoring James M. Crawford
2012 South Bend Samaritan Counseling Center Award
2016 South Bend Museum of Art Carlotta Banta Award
2017 South Bend Symphony Orchestra Gift of Music Award
2018 National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program
2019 Purdue Club Saint Joseph Valley Distinguished Alumni Award
2023 City of Mishawaka Drum Major Award
2023 Inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame
Community Activities and leadership:
2011 South Bend Alumni Association. Board of Directors, 2011-present
2000 Purdue Alumni Club Saint Joseph Valley, Board of Directors, South Bend 2000-present
2012 South Bend Tribune editorial advisory board 2012-2013
2017 South Bend Museum of Art Board of Directors, 2017 – 2024
2012 South Bend Symphony Board of Directors, 2012 – 2024
2019 South Civic Theatre Board of Directors, 2019 – 2024
Basis for Nomination:
Mr. Jack Champaigne and Electronics Incorporated hold over 34 U.S. patents plus China, Japan, and Canada, related to surface engineering and shot peening control technology, and Mr. Champaigne has over 15 publications. When founding Electronics Incorporated, Mr. Champaigne intended to supply process controllers to Wheeabrator’s Air Pollution Control Division to be used in their dust collectors. Wheelabrator’s Blast Cleaning Division requested that EI furnish a media flow monitoring system and controllers for a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet project that required peen forming of the wing skins. Mr. Champaigne created a media flow valve for air-type peening machines which he patented as the MagnaValve®. This new valve gave rise to a complete product line for the shot peening and abrasive blast cleaning markets. He has been President of EI for 50 years, with distributors in over 20 countries and the company currently employs 28 people, some of whom have stayed with the company for over 30 years; his approach towards creating a family-like atmosphere and culture has played a key role in his leadership in business and the community.
Due to a lack of industry trade information, in 1986 EI started publishing The Shot Peener. This trade magazine is read by more than 6,000 people in 72 countries and is dedicated to sharing information and expanding markets for shot peening and blast cleaning industries. To help underwrite the cost of the publication, EI began marketing Almen strips, introducing the concept of graded strips to meet the needs of various industries (automotive, aerospace, etc.). EI now produces 3-4 million Almen strips each year, designed to the exacting specifications identified by the SAE and FAA for shot peening calibration.
In addition to creating products used worldwide in the surface finishing industry, Mr. Champaigne is committed to education and the distribution of information. EI hosted the first Shot Peening and Blast Cleaning workshop in 1991 and continues to sponsor innovative training workshops in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. EI provides on-site shot peening and testing programs and was the first shot peening training company to receive FAA recognition. In 1995, EI launched an extensive online library devoted to shot peening and blast cleaning and is now the largest source for research papers and articles in the field for working professionals. Mr. Champaigne has had an influential role on the International Scientific Committee for Shot Peening selecting Purdue University to host its tri-annual conference in 2025, where over 300 industry and university researchers will gather to present on shot peening advances.
His ability to leverage his family-owned business and dedication to the field has led to the South Bend area being a hub for shot peening, with international companies like Toyo-Seiko (producer of cut wire shot material) setting up their North American headquarters in South Bend. With other peening companies based within a two-hour drive to this area (Engineered Abrasives Alsip IL, Progressive Surface Grand Rapids MI, Gibson Abrasive Fishers IN, and Sinto North America, Lansing MI) Mr. Champaigne has aggressively pursued a Midwest approach towards networking and collaboration, ensuring training and information in the field is shared to advance the field. With this passion for advancing the technology and research in shot peening, and in partnership with Cummins, in 2017, Mr. Champaigne provided seed money to start the Purdue Center for Surface Engineering and Enhancement. This industrial center has grown to include 15 members, including OEMs, tier 1 suppliers, and small business, and supports 3-4 graduate students per year on multi-disciplinary research in multiple departments (MSE, ME, and IE).
For his impact in advancing world-wide surface engineering processing, research, and education, the School of Materials Engineering is proud to nominate Mr. Jack Champaigne for the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award.
