Engineering alumnus builds 'house of brands'

Ben Moore, his father, and his son are all UC graduates. Photo/Provided

"I loved my university, my UC experience," the younger Moore said. "I remember first getting there, a wide-eyed kid looking at how big the campus was."

Upon arrival, Moore committed to his studies, earning a 3.8 GPA and being named freshman of the year at CEAS. He became an active member and leader in the university's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Years later, Moore's son continued this legacy, earning his degree in chemical engineering at CEAS.

"UC has been great to my family. From my father, to myself, to my kids," Moore said.

It was through his leadership in NSBE that Moore found an untapped passion for mentorship. Through the organization, he spent time mentoring younger students, helping them get interested in STEM, as well as providing information to their families on how to pay for college.

"One of the great things I remember about my time at UC was a lot of time helping other students, mentoring in the community. I got to have a lot of fun and be of service," he said.

Moore learned a lot about the value of mentorship through his co-op positions at the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company. He completed all his co-op rotations there, where he said he tried to get value out of every day. If he had downtime, he would ask to assist senior technicians, learning valuable skills from them.

"I turned my co-op program into greater learning. And by the end, I was given projects full-time engineers would get assigned," Moore said.

After graduation, Moore continued his education at CEAS, doing his master's work in electrical engineering. He went on to work for Cincinnati-headquartered consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble Co. While there, he also worked at a government contracting company, using intelligent agents in manufacturing. It was this contract work that would eventually change the trajectory of his career.

"I always wanted to start my own company, so I talked to my manager at the government contracting company and asked him if I could be a contractor instead of just an employee," he said.

From there, Agent Technologies, Moore's first company was born in 1995, while he was in grad school. Moore created and hosted websites through the company. At the time, he had a two-bedroom apartment, one bedroom of which was dedicated to this, with a wall full of servers for hosting the sites. With a family to support, he remained at Procter & Gamble, managing Agent Technologies on his lunch breaks and in the evenings until he was able to make the move full-time. Over the years, he has had equity stakes in numerous IT companies, growing his portfolio of experience, businesses and connections.

Most recently, Ben Moore acquired Miami Machine, Inc. Photo/Provided

Most recently, Moore acquired Butler County equipment manufacturer Miami Machine, Inc.

Since this acquisition, Moore and his team have dedicated much time to upgrade sales and marketing materials and to implement procedures that drive the productivity and profitability of the brand. As Moore's industrial portfolio grows, he aims to stimulate manufacturing and jobs in the region.

"We will acquire other industrial equipment brands, implement our manufacturing model, and hope to acquire international manufacturing assets in the future," Moore said.