Meet Anne Cooper, a 27-year veteran of the custom cutting tools industry. Anne is the Lead Design Engineer for GWS Tool Groups’ insert division and started her career with humble origins as a machine operator in the Edge Prep Department. From there, she has continued to perfect her craft and expand her responsibilities, making her position one of the company’s most vital roles.

Uniquely enough, Anne’s path to becoming an integral part of the GWS family started as she was celebrating her 25-year anniversary in the industry. It happened to be the same day it was announced that CGI Tool would be joining the GWS Tool Group Family.

A Design Dynamo

Using solid model CAD/CAM software and years worth of experience, Anne designs custom cutting tool inserts that machine parts as diverse as medical implants to parts for heavy machinery. It is not uncommon for customers and sales representatives to ask Anne to work from basic 2D part prints or reverse engineer a sample to design custom inserts to fit their special needs

In addition to her design work, on a typical day you can find Anne taking an active role in researching & developing new techniques “to improve the features of an insert for a customer’s unique application, while working to keep costs down at the same time.”

Mindful Mechanics

While Anne is modest about her natural abilities, she has a strong mathematical and mechanical background, citing the fact that “her father was a self-taught inventor and her grandfather was an architect.” Combined with degrees in Manufacturing Technology and Design Technology, she uses her strong background to help “visualize the whole process and imagine the proper tool” for the customer’s requirements.

The GWS “Edge”

As an expert in her field, Anne takes pride in knowing that GWS never hesitates to invest in new technology that will make a better product for their customers. “Working with the most advanced equipment on the market helps us provide a much faster turnaround than the competition,” she said. “Plus, it’s a lot of fun having new toys to play with.”

Beyond Design

Thanks to her diverse background, Anne is very knowledgeable in all aspects of the business and truly knows it inside and out. She enjoys the different challenges that every day brings and has the confidence that her years of experience, along with utilization of state-of-the-art machinery, will enable her to handle any task.

Beside custom cutting tools, she has a strong knowledge of CNC machines and is a tremendous asset when it comes to troubleshooting and fixing a downed machine to prevent costly downtime and expensive service calls.

Off the Clock

In her free time, Anne enjoys spending time with her kids and contributing to the community. She is vice president of the local chapter of Optimist International, a worldwide volunteer organization whose members work each day to make the future brighter by bringing out the best in children and their communities. Anne’s group helps to promote childhood health & wellness, organizes programs for summer youth camps and offers scholarship opportunities to assist local high school students.