For Wallace “Wally” Brithinee, building things has been a lifelong theme.
He has built companies, helped build institutions, supported the development of technical standards, and, in recent years, helped build the Manufacturers’ Council of the Inland Empire into a stronger regional voice for industry.
As Board President of MCIE, Wally brings decades of experience as a manufacturer, entrepreneur, technical problem-solver, and civic-minded industry advocate. His perspective is rooted in the practical realities of running companies: developing talent, solving operational problems, earning customer trust, adapting to changing technology, and finding ways for manufacturers to do together what no single company can easily do alone.
Wally’s professional background includes leadership in the electric motor and generator repair industry, where his family company, Brithinee Electric, became a respected name in the field. The company was later sold to Sulzer, the global industrial firm whose roots trace back to the development of the diesel engine. That transaction marked one chapter in a career shaped by technical knowledge, entrepreneurship, and long-term thinking.
But Wally’s business experience extends beyond one company. He has also been involved in developing a bank and other ventures, giving him a broad view of what it takes to build durable organizations—not just launch them, but structure them, sustain them, and help them serve a larger purpose.
That builder’s mindset is central to how Wally approaches MCIE.
Earlier in his career, Wally became deeply involved in national industry standards work through the electric motor and generator repair trade. As chair of an engineering committee for an international trade association, he helped lead efforts to improve the quality, credibility, and consistency of repair and remanufacturing practices. That work contributed to the development of an ANSI standard for electric motor repair, helping an entire industry respond to changing energy-efficiency requirements and technical expectations.
The experience left a lasting impression.
“There were thousands of firms like ours that needed help they could not afford to develop individually,” Wally explains. “But collectively, you can do research, testing, and standards work that helps the whole industry.”
That same belief now shapes his work with MCIE. Manufacturers across the Inland Empire may differ in size, product, market, and technology, but many face shared challenges: workforce development, process documentation, succession, automation, equipment investment, customer diversification, and the need to stay competitive in a changing economy. Wally sees MCIE as a practical forum where those shared challenges can be identified, discussed, and addressed.
His involvement with the Manufacturers’ Council goes back many years, including the period when local manufacturing groups with different focuses began coming together. Some were centered on incumbent worker training. Others were more broadly focused on helping companies solve operational issues, connect with public agencies, and learn from one another. Over time, Wally helped guide MCIE toward a more manufacturer-led model—one that reflects the full range of issues facing Inland Empire industry.
That evolution has mattered. Under Wally’s leadership, MCIE has continued to strengthen its role as a convener: bringing together manufacturers, education partners, workforce leaders, civic organizations, and regional institutions around a common goal of supporting the industrial base of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Wally is especially interested in making sure those partnerships are practical. He believes education and workforce programs are most successful when they are closely connected to the real needs of employers and the real opportunities available to students. That means helping students understand what modern manufacturing actually looks like, while also helping companies connect with talent, technical resources, and problem-solvers who can support their growth.
For Wally, this is not just about filling jobs. It is about building stronger bridges between industry and the institutions that serve it.
“The young people want to work,” he says. “But they don’t always know what goes on inside these plants.”
That same respect for the work happening inside manufacturers also shows up in Wally’s enthusiasm for MCIE’s Innovation Awards. He sees the awards not simply as a dinner program, but as one of the few public moments when manufacturers are recognized for the ingenuity that often happens quietly on the plant floor.
Whether the innovation is a sophisticated clean-energy system, a major process improvement, or a solution developed by employees who know the work firsthand, Wally believes recognition matters. He has seen what it means when a manufacturer receives an award in front of peers, partners, and community leaders.
“It’s like handing them the Academy Award,” he says. “It’s moving to see.”
That sense of respect for manufacturers is one of Wally’s defining traits. He thinks in systems, but he talks about people: the key employee whose knowledge keeps a process running; the student who has not yet discovered a career in industry; the manufacturer trying to scale; the board member with insight to share; the company that has done something remarkable but rarely receives public recognition for it.
When asked where he sees MCIE going next, Wally is characteristically practical. He sees opportunity, but also the need for structure, sustainability, and focus. Interest in MCIE’s work continues to grow, and the organization’s value is increasingly visible across the region. But Wally is careful about growth for growth’s sake. Before expanding too quickly, he believes MCIE must continue strengthening the foundation that allows the organization to serve manufacturers well.
That outlook reflects the manufacturer’s mindset: vision matters, but execution determines whether the machine runs.
Outside of MCIE, Wally enjoys spending time in San Diego and the desert, and he has a deep appreciation for classical music, especially opera. But he is also quick to acknowledge that MCIE itself has become one of his great passions.
For new members, that makes Wally an especially valuable person to meet. Ask him about electric motors, business building, industry standards, the history of MCIE, the Innovation Awards, manufacturing partnerships, classical music, or opera, and you are likely to get more than a quick answer. You will get a perspective shaped by decades of work inside manufacturing—and a clear belief that the Inland Empire’s industrial community has a story worth telling, strengthening, and sustaining.
Quick Facts
Name: Wallace “Wally” Brithinee
Role: Board President, Manufacturers’ Council of the Inland Empire
Industry background: Electric motors, generators, repair, remanufacturing, technical standards, banking, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing leadership
Business experience: Helped build Brithinee Electric, later sold to Sulzer, and has been involved in other ventures including developing a bank
Leadership focus: Building MCIE as a practical, manufacturer-led voice for the Inland Empire’s industrial community
Ask him about: MCIE history, Innovation Awards, electric motors, business building, industry standards, classical music, opera, San Diego, or the desert
Favorite MCIE theme: Helping manufacturers solve shared problems collectively
