Women MAKE Awards Recognizes DENSO’s Beth Rollins for Manufacturing Excellence

Rollins, an engineering leader in Maryville, Tennessee, to be honored by the Manufacturing Institute alongside 100-plus other winners in an April 18 ceremony

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Manufacturing Institute (MI) – the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers – announced today it has recognized Beth Rollins of DENSO as a 2024 Women MAKE Awards Honoree. This annual national awards program honors women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory floor to the C-suite.

An engineer for 25 years, Rollins has led diverse teams across various DENSO function areas. Currently, she is instrumental in the company’s efforts to incorporate automated solutions where appropriate, helping improve operational safety and allowing team members to prioritize higher value production tasks. She also leads the employee resource group Ladies Excelling @ DENSO, which she co-founded to create a community among women colleagues and offer opportunities for skill development. Today the group has 200 members, welcoming people of all backgrounds and identities.   

“Every day women make success-defining impacts at DENSO and across manufacturing, so I am grateful that not only did my team nominate me for the award, but also that the Institute decided to include me among the impressive group of honorees,” said Beth Rollins, a senior manager of Logistics Engineering and Innovation at DENSO in Maryville, Tennessee. “It inspires me to keep pushing forward by continuing to grow my skills, advocate for others and support a new generation of women leaders.”

The Women MAKE Awards are part of the MI’s Women MAKE America initiative, which is the nation’s marquee program to close the gender gap in manufacturing. Women account for about half of the U.S. labor force but represent less than one-third of the manufacturing workforce. Women MAKE America aims to build the 21st-century manufacturing workforce by empowering and inspiring women in the industry.

“The Women MAKE Awards showcase the vibrant, diverse and rewarding careers in the industry and how women have excelled as manufacturing leaders, paying it forward to inspire and uplift the next generation to pursue opportunities in modern manufacturing,” said Caterpillar Group President of Resource Industries and Women MAKE Awards Chair Denise Johnson.

The Women MAKE Awards gala honors 100 industry leaders (“Honorees”) and 30 rising stars (“Emerging Leaders”) who have been nominated by their companies as the “go-to” women, recognized for their innovation, dedication, contributions and good counsel. Honorees are further rewarded with access to a two-day leadership development conference in Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to the evening awards gala. Since its launch in 2011, the program has honored and recognized more than 1,400 Honorees and Emerging Leaders.

“Beth’s technical expertise is matched only by her desire to mentor and help others,” said Denise Carlson, a vice president of DENSO’s North America Production Innovation Center and executive lead for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. “She has and will continue to be an important part of how we implement advanced technology in our operations and create more inclusive workplaces.”

“With more than 600,000 open jobs in manufacturing today and the continued need to fill millions more jobs by the end of the decade, it’s critical for manufacturers to engage the largest underrepresented pool of talent: women,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “The 2024 Women MAKE Awards gala promises to be an inspirational, powerful event, where some of the brightest stars in manufacturing will be recognized for the incredible work they have done—both to grow our industry and to uplift others like them.”

On April 18, the MI will recognize 130 recipients of the Women MAKE Awards in Washington, D.C. The evening will highlight the story of each Honoree and Emerging Leader, including their leadership and accomplishments in manufacturing.

Previous DENSO winners of the Women MAKE Awards, formerly known as the STEP Ahead Awards, include Denise Carlson in 2021, Monique Radersma in 2022 and Hannah Pearl in 2023.

If interested in working at a leading manufacturer committed to elevating team members of all backgrounds while developing the mobility technology of tomorrow, visit densocareers.com.

About DENSO
Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO is a $47.9 billion leading mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in around 200 facilities worldwide to produce cutting-edge electrification, powertrain, thermal and mobility electronics products, among others, that change how the world moves. In developing such solutions, the company’s 165,000 global employees pursue rewarding careers while paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents and preserves the environment. DENSO spent around 9.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. For more information about DENSO’s operations worldwide, visit https://www.denso.com/global. 

In North America, DENSO is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, and employs 27,000+ engineers, researchers, and skilled workers across nearly 50 sites in the U.S, Canada and Mexico. In the United States alone, DENSO employs 17,500+ employees across 14 states (and the District of Columbia) at 41 sites. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, DENSO in North America generated $11.3 billion in consolidated sales. DENSO is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion inside the company and beyond – a principle that brings together unique perspectives, bolsters innovation and pushes DENSO forward. To learn more about DENSO operations in the region and to review current career opportunities, please visit https://www.denso.com/us-ca/en/.

About The Manufacturing Institute
The Manufacturing Institute builds, diversifies and strengthens the modern manufacturing workforce, with the goal of furthering individual opportunity, community prosperity and a more competitive manufacturing industry. The MI engages underrepresented communities and shifts perceptions about careers in modern manufacturing, leads skilled training and career development programs, provides thought leadership and research on the changing state of the workforce and builds partnerships to scale up its impact on manufacturing in the United States. As the 501(c)3 nonprofit workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, the MI is a trusted adviser to manufacturers, equipping them with solutions for the industry’s toughest challenges. For more information, please visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org.

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SOURCE DENSO