Clay Korns, Precision Pulley and Idler
July 1, 2024
PPI
300 S.E. 14th St.
Pella, IA 50219
To Whom It May Concern,
It was my pleasure to work with Ivan Starr at PPI for two years as he supported our engineering
department with his programming expertise. At PPI (Precision Pulley and Idler) we manufacture
conveyor pulleys and components for many different industries ranging from unit and baggage handling
facilities to the aggregate and mining industry. Our engineering department relies on programs such as
AutoCAD and Solid Works which we use to design and draw production prints. Ivan supported our
department by writing several draw programs from the ground up which fully automated the print
creation process saving countless hours of drafting time.
My name is Clay Korns and I have been a CAD Specialist and drafter for PPI for 26 years. In that time, the
hardware and software related to CAD print creation has steadily progressed but the print creation
process has stayed pretty much the same. Ivan Starr was brought in to assist in the development of draw
programs allowing us to create fully detailed production prints from a quote or an order within minutes
rather than hours. Ivan was quick to understand our internal systems and was very insightful in
determining the kind of programming which would be needed to integrate our order schedule system
with our drafting and modeling software.
Over the last two years I have interacted directly with Ivan Starr on a weekly basis as I was one of the
primary users of the programs he was writing. Ivan relied heavily upon me to understand our drafting
process and our systems in order to integrate the two so that a program could be developed to
automate the print creation process. He was extremely professional and very knowledgeable on the
software we use. His expertise and talent for writing efficient code quickly became apparent as he was
able to provide results within just a few weeks. As we began running his programs, he was very quick to
respond to any requests for bug fixes and quality of life changes. One of the programs Ivan wrote for us
was a program which creates multiple part prints for a complex roller pulley system. Before the
automation, creating the set of prints would typically take a few hours. Ivan's program was able to
import the order details from our schedule system and, with a few inputs from the drafter, create all the
necessary prints automatically within just a few minutes. Ivan has been a huge asset to our department.
Ivan has a very engaging and energetic personality and was very easy to talk to and work with. He
demonstrated very conscientious devotion to the quality of the programs he was creating and always
treated our request for changes or bug fixes with a sense of urgency and competence. It is my sincere
pleasure to recommend Ivan Starr to anyone in need of programming assistance. He was a real asset and
a genuine joy to work with.
Best regards,
Clay Korns
Diego Suarez, BA Ingenieria
November 30, 2020
BA Ingenieria
Oficentro Momentum, San José Province
Curridabat, Pinares, 10105
Costa Rica
Ivan always completed his projects beyond our expectations.
Sincerely,
Diego Suarez
BA Ingenieria
Charles A. Williams, Architectural Data Systems
April 22, 2004
Architectural Data Systems
1000 E. 10th St.
258 Katonah Ave.
Katonah, NY 10547
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Ivan Starr, whose contributions to Architectural Data Systems
(ADS) were instrumental in the creation and success of one of our platform features. I had the privilege
of working closely with Ivan and witnessing firsthand the high level of creativity, technical ability, and
sustained effort he brought to the company. Ivan developed our Architectural Construction Detail Generation Engine,
which earned two U.S. patents for the company and himself. This engine automated the generation of architectural
construction details on-demand for our website's customers. John Averitt and I came up with the idea. Ivan was
solely responsible for figuring out how it could be done, demonstrated how it could be done with a
prototype program, and then did it with very little guidance.
In a 9 month time period he created a set of tools that allowed a team of draftsmen to create a comprehensive parts
database containing virtually every architectural component used in U.S. construction, along with a language and
toolset for creating intelligent, modular detail definitions. When the inevitable bugs were discovered, we would notify
him and he would fix it remotely, usually within hours.
I offer a strong recommendation for Ivan Starr. As a very creative and competent engineer/programmer, he will be an
asset to any company that hires him.
Sincerely,
Charles Williams
Architectural Data Systems
How to Contact Ivan