Changes at the top for Hardinge.

A series of moves in the upper management of machine-tool builder Hardinge Inc. throughout May resulted in the departure of J. Patrick Ervin, 51, who had been chairman, president, and chief executive officer. Succeeding Pat Ervin as president and CEO is Richard L. Simons. Moving into the chairmanship of the public company's board of directors is Kyle H. Seymour.

Upstate-New-York-based Hardinge, which had revenues of $356-million last year, ranks in the top tier of builders worldwide. About two-thirds of sales come from outside North America, and Hardinge Group has manufacturing operations in Switzerland, Taiwan, and China as well as in the U.S.

Rick Simons, 52, worked for Hardinge for 22 years. Back in 2000, when Bob Agan relinquished the title of president while remaining chairman, Pat Ervin was promoted from executive VP for operations to president and chief operating officer. In that same move, Rick Simons was promoted from senior VP to executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Simons left Hardinge in 2005 and served as corporate controller at metals producer Carpenter Technology. Simons, who holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and a CPA, rejoined Hardinge in March 2008 as chief operating officer.

Early in May, Simons was elected to Hardinge's board of directors. At the same time, the board elected Kyle Seymour as its chairman, succeeding Ervin, but in a non-executive capacity. Seymour, 47, who has been chairman, president, and CEO of Cincinnati-based custom-components producer Xtek since 2002, had been an outside director for Hardinge since 2004. Before moving to Xtek, Kyle Seymour had been with Cincinnati Milacron and, as senior VP for Unova Corp., had run its Cincinnati Machine subsidiary. He's also served as a director of trade association AMT.

In announcing on May 23 that Ervin stepped down from his post as president and CEO, chairman Seymour said, "The board believes that a change in management is in the best interest of the company, the shareholders, and Mr. Ervin." He went on to thank Pat Ervin for his commitment to the company and contributions as leader.

Under Pat Ervin, Hardinge (www.hardingeus.com) transformed itself into an international corporation, acquiring the Swiss grinding trio of Hauser-Tripet-Tschudin, the Bridgeport milling machine line and later its British machining-center operation, and buying out its Taiwanese partner in an operation that started out concentrating on drilling machines. At the end of May, Ervin resigned from Hardinge's board of directors; he'll continue to support the builder in a consulting role.

Hardinge Inc., Elmira, N.Y. 607-734-2281.