Alumni Excellence Academy Inductee 2016

Jim Medsker

'91, BS Mechanical Engineering

'99, MS Mechanical Engineering

 

In 1998, Jim founded a company that is now known as Keystone Solutions Group. Within Keystone Solutions Group, there are two business unit: Keystone Product Development and Keystone Manufacturing. Keystone Product Development is a turnkey product development firm offering design, analysis, testing, and other services tailored toward turning ideas into real products. Keystone Manufacturing provides contract manufacturing services, primarily in the medical device market. 

Keystone has employed many WMU graduates over the years and has assisted in the development and launch of hundreds of products. In automotive, Jim and his team have assisted with the development of numerous on-highway transmission and vehicle mobility systems. Aerospace contributions include design, analysis, and testing of a wide variety of commercial airline systems on platforms such as the Joint Strike Fighter, Airbus A380, and the Boeing 787. In the medical device market, contributions include the development and launch of a number of patient surfaces that assist in reducing and eliminating pressure ulcers, providing patient warming during surgery, and ease of patient transfer throughout medical facilities. 

Through his career, Jim has attained 7 U.S. and world patents and assisted many others in attaining intellectual property to protect their ideas. Jim also serves as an industry advisor for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences External Advisory committee. Jim is a Kalamazoo native and lives in a nearby rural area with his wife and two children. Jim and his family enjoy traveling and spending time on their property which includes grape vineyards.