ITC Automotive: Q&A with Mike Marzolf

Q: Can you tell me a bit about your career history and how you became ITC’s Automotive Business Manager?

A: I always say my career has been swimming upstream in the product process. Beginning as a team leader at Prince Corporation in Holland, Michigan, I started building product before moving into support roles as a quality engineer, and then a materials manager. When Johnson Controls acquired Prince, my wife and I packed up and moved from Holland to Wilmington, Delaware for two years to start up a new instrument panel facility.  

When we moved back, I became a program manager, launching overhead products for Johnson Controls. After fifteen years at Prince/JCI, I left for an automotive sales engineer position at Shape Corporation, where my key customers were Ford and GM. After seven years, I left to take a run at selling asset management technology for Cascade Engineering, and following four years with Cascade, I came to ITC to lead sales for Automotive and Horticulture in 2021.  

Q: Why is ITC uniquely positioned to serve Automotive customers?

I’ve always appreciated ITC’s vast product diversity across industries. Cars are becoming more like mobile workspaces, and looking ahead, they’ll require more and more amenities to act as multi-functional spaces. 

With ITC’s expertise in developing durable lifestyle products for the RV and Marine industries, we’ll continue finding areas where these needs crossover, and we’ll be poised to design similar products for our Automotive customers.   

Q: Which products/technological areas of expertise does ITC specialize in for the Automotive industry?

ITC excels in the development of durable, waterproof products, which are crucial elements when designing products that will perform well in the interior or exterior of a car. 

Additionally, our RGB and RGBW lighting controllers are a primary area of growth in the automotive industry. Lighting is more than just illumination—it can create moods and it can communicate, which requires interaction with the vehicle through a specialized controller.   

Q: Which recent projects have you most enjoyed working on?

I’ve honestly enjoyed every project I’ve worked on at ITC. What I enjoy most are the new relationships we develop with our customers along the way. We have a very talented engineering team, and once customers work with us, they come away with confidence that we have the specialized skills to bring innovative, quality, and custom products to their projects.

Q: Where is ITC headed next in Automotive?

We’re currently working on several lighting, charging and surface products for the consumer and commercial truck markets. Additionally, we’re continuing to develop custom branded illumination products for our current customers.

Our product development process is extremely efficient, and our customers are always impressed with both the quality of the part and the speed in which we execute it.  

ITC has always been committed to continuous improvement, which is a key element to our success in the Automotive industry. We consistently update our existing products and develop new ones to stay ahead of market trends and offer customers the best in Automotive lighting, charging, and more.