Our Values
Generosity • Diversity • Mentorship • Integrity • Exceptional Accountability • Innovative Thinking
GENEROSITY
We strive to be go-givers. At a corporate job, many are trained in a business development process called "give to get.” The principles of the training are simple: your attitude should first be to "give" to your potential clients and then (and only then) could you expect to "get" new business from them. We totally agree with the principle with one exception - we should "give to give.” Generosity and service are natural outputs of a giving mentality. If we live by the golden rule (do unto others, as you would have them do unto you) and believe in the goodness of humanity to pay it forward, then we do not need to expect anything in return for our giving.
DIVERSITY
At Chang Industrial, we believe diversity is not a corporate strategy; it is an attitude. People who have empathy and place value on the views of others find that diversity is an essential part of a contagious corporate culture. We value diversity above conventional performance metrics. The result of a diversity-first attitude is a winning team that accomplishes more. Men should be surrounded by women and women by men. The average skin shade of a winning team should be some shade of tan or brown. This may sound challenging in a heavily STEM career field, however, commitment to diversity separates great teams from good teams.
MENTORSHIP
Mentorship is a cornerstone of who we are as professionals. It is important to be a mentor and a mentee; we all should have professional mentors, but also mentor people of the next generation. Mentorship is interesting because there are many times when the mentor receives as much (or more) from the exchange as the mentee. Mentorship aids in keeping an attitude of humility and an attitude of gratitude. Mentorship reminds us that we did not make it all on our own and encourages us to mentor others to help them realize their dreams. To that end, we are passionate supporters of marketplace ministry through Lifework Leadership and their affiliate chapter in Jacksonville, Lifework First Coast.
INTEGRITY
Our team members seek to always do the right thing. We treat our customers, partners, suppliers, and third parties fairly and transparently. We honor our commitments. We value integrity in everything that we do.
EXCEPTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
We are strongly committed to working ethically and effectively. We seek a collegial approach to problem solving, and demand mutual respect whenever compromise is required. We honor the resources and mandates our clients entrusted to us and strive always to do our best to honor that trust. We seek to understand and fulfill our individual and team responsibilities, while recognizing and rewarding our collective successes.
We seek to constantly challenge the status quo and utilize best practices. The combination of the two thought processes leads to innovative thinking and efficiency of effort. Our method for innovation is taking a fresh view of a problem and using creativity to seek alternatives to the conventional solution. Innovative thinking allows us to address problems that have never been solved before.
INNOVATIVE
THINKING
Our Leadership
Matthew Chang
Founder and Principal of Chang Industrial
Matthew is an innovative businessman, community leader, entrepreneur, husband, and father. Matthew got his Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech and his Executive Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville University. Matthew focused on global manufacturing then started the U2C autonomous vehicle initiative for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority as the first automation employee. Matthew founded Chang Industrial, a boutique engineering firm specializing in autonomous systems, in 2017. He has fostered a team of industry leaders to disrupt the manufacturing and distribution industry. Matthew currently serves the community on the board of advisors for Jacksonville University, as a student’s leader at the Church of Eleven22, and on the board for Lifework Leadership.
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Matthew has had the opportunity to speak on his experiences and expertise throughout his career. In 2020, during the COVID pandemic, Matthew led a project to implement the largest fleet of autonomous vehicles in the world, for a manufacturing system. In 2019, he led a project to implement the largest IoT (internet of things) manufacturing system in the world. In 2018, he recruited the USDOT BUILD Grant Award for JTA & COJ and awarded the certificate of excellence from JTA. Matthew has served as guest Lecturer at Harvard Business School, featured on “Tech Talk USA” and “On a Mission” BUZZTV, guest speaker at CESMII, keynote speaker at the Autonomous Robot Conference, presenter at TALON and IMTS Spark, Awarded JU 2019 Alumni of the Year, and featured as a speaker at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Northwestern University, University of North Florida, National Institute of Standards & Technology, and University of California Davis. Some of Matthew's other accomplishments include JBJ Top 40 Under 40, JDR Top Entrepreneur, JBJ Tech Leader, JBJ Fast 50, and others that can be found on our Awards and Speaking Engagements pages.
Kate McAfoose is a leader in her industry using disruptive technology to change how companies do business. In 2020, Kate played a key executive role implementing the largest robotic system of its kind in the world. The key to the robotic success was development of a new software system to coordinate the "orchestra" of robots. She specializes in designing applications for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), collaborative robotics, autonomous technology, and scalable automation. Kate designs technology systems in her role at Chang Industrial to help customers stay on the cutting edge of automation and big data while enabling better service to end-users.
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Kate embodies the new millennial working professional. She is a licensed engineering professional, remote work expert, partner at Chang Industrial, and has achieved industry firsts in engineering and robotic system design-- serving her community, and mothering three small children and being a wife to Bryan. Kate worked during the pandemic being a designated CISA (critical infrastructure) worker and through the lockdowns to keep America’s manufacturing, food, and e-commerce supply chains running. Kate is a graduate of LifeWork Leadership. She serves her community by mentoring in STEM at Fletcher Middle School and through training the next generation of high-school leaders in the First Coast chapter of GRIT. She hopes to provide the next generation with the tools and the values that were instilled in her and equip them to succeed in their futures.
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Kate McAfoose
Capital Program Manager and President at Chang Industrial
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Ross is an expert in large capital and fully integrated projects, and has served as a program engineering manager internationally and nationally across the United States. Ross received his BS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic State University. Ross is a Vice President of Engineering, partner in Chang Industrial, and has managed a project that was awarded as the largest robotic system of its kind in the world. Ross chooses the great state of Colorado to be an industry leader, father, and husband.
Ross Barnard
VP of Engineering and Partner at Chang Industrial