Tim Tate

President Edgewater Automation

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Tim Tate is President of Edgewater Automation, a family-owned company in St. Joseph, Michigan that designs and builds custom automation equipment. Its work includes assembly and test systems, material handling and data acquisition for automotive, life science, consumer products, battery and logistics customers. He has spent his whole known career at the company. He joined in 2006 as a machine builder on the shop floor and worked up through project management, manufacturing leadership and site leadership. He was named President in January 2024, when founder Rick Blake took the Chief Executive Officer title.

Career Highlights

• Named President of Edgewater Automation in January 2024, with founder Rick Blake becoming CEO.
• Managing director of the St. Joseph automation team from 2019.
• Director of manufacturing from 2015 and project manager from 2013.
• Joined Edgewater in 2006 as a machine builder.
• Helps lead the Berrien Talent Collaborative, which offers paid registered apprenticeships to high school students.

Professional Journey

Tate joined Edgewater Automation in 2006 as a machine builder. At the time the company was five years old: Rick Blake had founded it in St. Joseph, Michigan in January 2001, with five employees and help from the Manders Group, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and local government.

He moved into management in 2013 as a project manager and became director of manufacturing in 2015. During that period the company expanded beyond its original site, opening facilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Buchanan, Michigan in 2014, including a contract manufacturing division. In 2019 he became managing director of the St. Joseph automation team, the company’s original and largest operation.

In January 2024 Edgewater announced that Blake would become Chief Executive Officer and Tate would become President. Blake said Tate had “over many years in the business, shown himself to be a hard worker, talented manager, and natural leader.” At the time the company had 265 staff across Michigan and South Carolina. When Edgewater marked its 25th anniversary in January 2026, it reported a staff of 240 and about 400,000 square feet of space, up from its first 10,000-square-foot building. Tate was quoted as President.

His own route into the trade shapes one of his public commitments. He credits Lake Michigan College with teaching him “how to be an apprentice”. He is part of the leadership group behind the Berrien Talent Collaborative, an employer-led effort to build a regional talent pipeline through paid registered apprenticeships for high school students. Describing the students Edgewater wants, he said: “Kids who don’t know what they want to do… The ones who think, ‘I want to fix stuff.’”

Education

He attended Lake Michigan College, which he credits with teaching him the apprenticeship model. No degree or dates are published.