NMU Art and Design alumnus Thomas Gallagher (’04 BFA) and his company ERMA Power recently received a Silver Award in the outdoor and garden category at the prestigious International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), a premier competition sponsored annually by the Industrial Designers Society of America. ERMA Power received silver for its battery electric riding lawnmower.   

Gallagher has designed and launched nine core products from the ground up with the support of two co-workers: a mechanical engineer and an industrial engineer.

“I have been extremely fortunate throughout my career and owe a significant chunk of my success to my education/educators,” he wrote. “There are infinite parallels from art to business and business to art. I truly believe getting an art degree was possibly the best decision I ever made for my career.”

See a commercial for the lawnmower designed by Gallagher’s team here.