John Cross
Updated Nov 7, 2026
Hi, I’m John.
I have spent three decades in manufacturing, most of it in precision machining for medical devices.
It started early. In 1993, while still at Rhode Island College studying industrial engineering and management, I founded Metro Technology in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, a prototype and contract manufacturing company built on early adoption of multi-axis CNC machining, 3D scanning and reverse engineering. Over thirteen years we grew through networking and referrals, serving clients that included Tiffany & Co., Boston Scientific, Texas Instruments, IBM Canada, Lenox and Gorham Silversmiths, whose century-old handmade masterwork patterns we digitised and reproduced by CNC. I later completed a Mini-MBA at Rutgers University.
In 2006 I moved to Florida, recruited by the shareholders of Structure Medical in Naples during its start-up phase. Structure is an ISO 13485 orthopedic implant manufacturer, and I built its CNC and manufacturing processes from prototype to shipped, implantable product, leading lean initiatives that drove growth, quality and on-time delivery. The shop ran Swiss turning and Willemin-Macodel machines, and Structure was one of the first companies to use Willemin-Macodel for bone fixation and cervical fixation work. When the company was sold in 2010, I left.
In 2010 I joined Micro Stamping Corporation in Somerset, New Jersey, recruited during a strategic shift and charged with building a precision machining capability the company did not have. Micro is a global medical device developer and contract manufacturer, making components for laparoscopic and robotic surgery. I built that capability from the ground up, in particular its 7-axis mill-turn CNC, its PEM (precision electrolytic machining, which I was the first to deploy and perfect in North America) and its automation, alongside Swiss turning, EDM, additive manufacturing and computer integrated manufacturing, staffed and directed across research and development, prototyping, process development and operations.
The work opened markets. I introduced the multi-axis machining platforms that gave Micro its entry into the highly profitable surgical robot marketplace, and I am credited as a key contributor to an average of 15% per annum revenue growth, driven by the profitability of the CNC and Swiss machining processes we developed. Keeping it current took me around the world: I have been fortunate enough to travel the globe searching and researching the latest advancements in CNC, factory automation and autonomation, across most of the United States, and through Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and countless other places, bringing what I found back to the shop floor.
It also reproduced itself in people. I trained countless engineers who had never worked with this kind of equipment before, and led the team that delivered a New Jersey state certified training program for apprentice toolmakers across CNC milling, CNC lathe, Swiss turning, PEM and EDM. That teaching ran beyond Micro: I was involved in creating the advanced manufacturing program at Lincoln Tech in Mahwah, working with Allendale Machinery and the Gene Haas Foundation, and the Machining Technology program at Raritan Valley Community College, working with the consultants and administrators there, again with Haas, to get it set up and going, so the trade keeps producing people who can do this work.
As Director, I lead advanced machining and act as the company’s digital factory architect. I led the multi-year initiative that created Odin, Micro’s digital twin: a real time view of the manufacturing floor, running 24/7 and fully integrated with our ERP, so overall equipment effectiveness can be analysed and acted on instantly. I also brought in the SupplyPro SmartDrawer system, now at 8 installations throughout the facility, automatically managing $4MM of inventory and integrated directly into the ERP for automated purchasing. I work directly with customers’ engineering, quality and design teams on design for manufacturing early in the product development cycle.
The titles followed the results: Senior Manager of Precision Machining in 2016, joining the senior management team, and Director of Advanced Machining in 2019.
More recently I have been adding artificial intelligence to that foundation, as a plus on top of the machining core rather than a replacement for it. I have earned more than 100 professional certificates, most of them in AI, and I am building expertise in how AI tools get validated for use in regulated medical device manufacturing under FDA and ISO 13485 quality systems.
Things that bring me joy include time in Italy, travel, good food with family and friends, and seeing a difficult part come off the machine right.