Coleman Knabe became a co-founder and mechanical engineer at Hellbender to apply his mechanical and system design experiences in an exciting and challenging new environment. Hellbender’s mission to reshore domestic manufacturing by presenting more cost-effective, better-quality products, made more quickly than standard contract manufacturing, aligns with Coleman’s passion for efficiency, innovation and quality – as well as his interest in bringing jobs and goods back to the United States.

At a fundamental level, Coleman is driven to make the best possible products for customers. In his work at Hellbender, Coleman achieves this goal through his focus on ruggedization. He is responsible for ensuring products can withstand wear-and-tear, and live up to their full potential for customers.

Hellbender’s capacity to do high mix, high volume manufacturing with a robotic assembly line with the power to build one widget one day and another the next, is an exhilarating alternative to the slower, bulkier, and often wasteful business models that are the industry standard. Coleman is energized by the ability to accommodate several customers at one time, and to meet the needs of all customers in-house, from design, to troubleshooting, to building.

Coleman’s commitment to building efficient systems extends beyond work. On the personal level, Coleman brings his efficiency mindset to home automation. He’s created sophisticated systems in his own house, tailoring the electronic responses in his home to various cues based on the habits of himself, his wife and their dog. At the societal level, he recognizes yet another kind of efficiency in the way that Hellbender’s work infuses his chosen home of Pittsburgh with a circular local economy. By helping new companies realize their vision close to home, Hellbender helps continue to supply jobs to residents.