Jason Atkinson serves as the President of American Rheinmetall. Located in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Mr. Atkinson is responsible for leadership across the entire organization with a focus on growth and major program launches. In this role Mr. Atkinson has over-site of large program launches, overall business processes, continuous improvement activities, and top line growth.

Prior to joining American Rheinmetall in November 2024, Jason was the President and CEO of Loc Performance (Loc), a diversified full-service provider of mechanical systems, fabricated structures, armored products, and track systems for commercial and defense markets. Atkinson served as a key member of Loc’s leadership team since 2008, when he joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. During his 16 years of Leadership as CEO and COO, Atkinson oversaw all aspects of the business operations, including production, quality, materials, engineering, IT, and human resources. He spearheaded the development of tools that accelerated Loc’s growth, including Loc’s QMS supplier development system and the launch of Plex, Loc’s fully automated ERP system. Under his direction and management, Loc launched and delivered flawlessly on significant programs such as ECP1 for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which increases ground clearance and survivability for over 3500 vehicles. Atkinson also led several significant acquisitions for Loc, including Demmer’s North Lansing plant in 2017, Lapeer Industries in 2019, and Continental’s St Mary’s location in 2021. Under Atkinson’s leadership, Loc deployed millions of dollars in capital equipment, facility expansions, and new product launches, such as the MLRS IAC program in the Lansing facility. As a certified six sigma black belt, Atkinson has built his career on continuous improvement efforts.

Prior to joining Loc, Atkinson developed strong leadership experience in the automotive industry. Starting his career at a Tier 1 automotive supplier while going to school at M-TEC, Atkinson had full P&L responsibility as a  plant manager for a multi-site operation that produced underbody, suspension components and mechanical assemblies for Chrysler, GM, and Ford. Over this twelve-year period in the auto industry, he launched hundreds of millions of dollars in business, obtained Q1 with Ford, maintained QS9000, TS16949, and A2LA certifications, and developed a cost reduction and lean manufacturing program yielding significant savings. With five plants and over 800 employees, Jason received PMP certification to support multisite program launches and developed a program management process with multi-gate reviews to ensure on-time delivery and overall customer satisfaction.