40 under 40 — Joseph Beck

Pi, 2011 — Recognized in: 2020

Joseph Beck graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2012.  During his undergraduate years at RPI, he was a member of Pi Chapter of Zeta Psi after joining as a freshman with the class of Fall 2007.  He was the Phi during 2009 while living in the fraternity house on Belle Ave.  He completed undergraduate studies in 2011 graduating with Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Business and Management degrees.  He then continued at RPI to begin his MS degree completing research on hydrogen fuel cells and with a focus on advanced manufacturing.

After completing his MS, he joined Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM as a member of the technical staff in the Power Sources Production Group in March 2013.  There, his responsibilities quickly grew to be a Product Realization Team Lead and managing a $50 million portfolio of power sources production across multiple technologies supporting the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons program and other national security objectives.  While at Sandia, his interest in technological entrepreneurship led him to completing a Master of Business Administration from New Mexico State University in 2016.  As a member of the power sources group, he worked closely with the design engineers to implement design for manufacturing considerations and also with many external suppliers to manage quality, cost, and delivery of procurements.

Four years to the day after joining Sandia, he followed in his father’s footsteps to start his own business and be his own boss.  After identifying a potential gap in the supply chain, and a mentality of “we could do it better,” Joe departed with a Sandia colleague to form Advanced Manufactured Power Solutions (AMPS) holding the title of President/CEO.  AMPS is a custom high-reliability battery manufacturer located in Albuquerque, NM.  AMPS target market is very niche, focusing on production and testing of lithium primary (non-rechargeable) custom battery packs for high-consequence/high-impact applications where reliability is critical to mission success.

AMPS capitalized on the opportunity to meet the growing demand unrealized in the existing supply chain while building their reputation of rigorous quality and on time delivery.  This led to increasing work with Sandia Labs supporting its national security mission as well as partnering with NASA JPL on future space exploration programs.  AMPS’ business rapidly grew expanding into secondary (rechargeable) battery packs as well as other high reliability components such as cables.  Its full-time staff increased from three to seven employees in the first two years and most recently AMPS moved into a larger 7,700 square foot manufacturing location which they purchased less than three years after the company was founded.  AMPS has already exceeded its founders’ most optimistic expectations and the future continues to look bright even during these uncertain times.