About Us
Product Design from a Customer’s Perspective
It all started in 1982. The impetus behind the creation of MicroRidge was the frustration John Schuldt, our founder, felt when he worked in R&D for a large forest products company and a university. Both organizations had “analysis paralysis” when trying to solve problems.
John had years of programming experience and wanted his own company. He saw the need for a solution enabling QC people to identify significant opportunities within the manufacturing process.
The guru for QC-SPC in lumber manufacturing was a professor at OSU and a long-time friend of John’s. Together, they developed the first lumber size control & monitoring software program. It took 9 months. Their first sale was to the large forest products company John used to work for. The forest products company commented: “It would have taken us years to put this together!” The key for John then and now was not to overanalyze when the customer needed a solution.
“It would have taken us years to put this together!”
This experience carried over when John moved the company into general manufacturing. There were already software companies providing measurement analysis, so John focused on the hardware side of measurement collection. To John’s surprise, he found that some of the gage interface and gage manufacturers did not have “analysis paralysis”. Instead, it appeared that they effectively built the product before they designed it.
John’s approach continues today to design products that offer flexibility in terms of future enhancement. A problem is discussed with the customer, and a decision is made. MicroRidge today continues to put on its customer hat when developing or enhancing products. This results in quality products that solve customers’ problems are easy to use, and maintain.
The MicroRidge Team
We are ready to make it as easy as possible for you to do business with MicroRidge. We offer responsive and knowledgeable technical and customer support as well as a no-risk 100% money-back guarantee. Contact us today and we will help you choose a measurement collection solution to meet your data acquisition needs.
Riley Tronson
President – Owner
Riley acquired MicroRidge in May of 2023 with his business partner Andy Duvall. Riley and Andy met at Oregon State University, where they studied Mechanical Engineering. After graduating from Oregon State University, Riley has started numerous companies, from ones that focus on software development to manufacturing furniture. Riley brings his unique background and experience to MicroRidge to push the company to new heights and provide innovative solutions to our customers.
Riley’s responsibilities as owner and President include general operations and business management, financial management, and all software and hardware design and development.
Andy Duvall
Sales Director – Owner
Andy worked for 10 years as a design engineer before partnering with Riley to purchase MicroRidge in 2023. Experience includes leading design projects to enhance capabilities of Atomic Layer Deposition semiconductor equipment and implementing diesel aftertreatment solutions to comply with EPA/GHG 24 regulations. With an approach rooted in problem solving, Andy leverages his background as an engineer to understand the needs of all consumers of MicroRidge products, from QA Technicians to Manufacturing Executives.
Andy’s responsibilities include maintaining and developing relationships with MicroRidge Customers, Resellers, and Users. He will serve as the primary contact for new and existing customer’s requests and questions. Andy’s primary goal is to help integrate MicroRidge products into new and existing manufacturing processes to increase data collection speed, accuracy, and reliability.
Mike Martino
Production Manager & Technical Support
Prior to joining the MicroRidge team in March 2000, Mike had over 11 years of business experience in engineering, management, customer service, and material handling. Mike graduated from the Central Oregon Reserve Police Academy, the Santa Clara Criminal Justice Training Center in San Jose and West Valley College in Saratoga, California.
Mike’s responsibilities include production management, planning, purchasing & inventory control; technical support; customer training; software testing.
Dani Haynes
Account Manager
Prior to joining the MicroRidge team in October 2014, Dani has over 23 years of experience in the high tech manufacturing industry supporting sales, marketing and operations, customer service, CRM, order processing, shipping/receiving, invoicing, and inventory control. In addition to a wide variety of skills, Dani enjoys supporting a team and providing exceptional customer service.
Dani’s responsibilities include maintaining relationships with existing costumers. In addition to customer relations, Dani coordinates and executes the order fulfillment process (from receipt of order through production order, packing, shipping and invoicing), receiving, and management of the accounts receivables/payables.
Proudly Designed and Manufactured in the United States of America
- All MicroRidge Systems labeled products are designed, engineered, and assembled in our Sunriver, Oregon, USA headquarters.
- These products include:
- MobileCollect wireless: receivers and transmitters
- GageWay interfaces: single and multiple gage models
- WedgeLink keyboard wedges: hardware and software products
- Software
- All product programming is created at our Sunriver, Oregon, USA headquarters. This includes all device firmware, all Setup programs, and the WedgeLink Lite and WedgeLink Standard software programs.
- Circuit Boards
- All circuit boards and sheet metal enclosures used in MicroRidge products are made by USA businesses, and all electrical component mounting services are provided by USA businesses.
- Components and Materials
- Individual product components are purchased from USA-based suppliers, but these components (resistors, capacitors, buttons, etc.) may or may not be produced in USA-based manufacturing facilities.
- Gage Cables
- Gage cables used to connect individual gage models to MicroRidge products are purchased from each gage manufacturer, many of which are not USA based manufacturers.