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April/May 2008
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Raymon York |
Mark Kramer |
Members of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) have elected as chairman of the NAW Board of Directors Chip Hornsby, group chief executive, Wolseley PLC, headquartered in Theale, England. He succeeds Raymon A. York, CEO, Ewing Irrigation Products, Phoenix, AZ, USA. York will remain active on the NAW Board as immediate past chairman. NAW also elected industry leaders as its officers for 2008 which includes Mark W. Kramer, president/CEO, Laird Plastics, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA. He will serve as NAW Secretary. Kramer joined Laird in September 2002, following a 20-year career in chemical distribution that spanned senior executive positions with his family’s business, Kramer Chemicals (1983-1990), its acquirer, Ellis & Everard (US Holdings) (1990-2001), and E&E’s acquirer, Vopak (2001-2002). From 1986 to 2000, he was active in the National Association of Chemical Distributors and the NACD Education Foundation holding numerous regional and national offices. Kramer served as NACD Chairman in 1999 to 2000.
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Sam Hubbard |
Foust Marketing, Inc. is pleased to announce that Sam Hubbard will be rejoining its organization. Hubbard brings an extensive background in industrial plastics. His experience and training includes pipe, valves, fittings, pumps, filtration, instrumentation and plastics fabrication. He is from Ohio where he attended Ohio State University and Ohio Dominican University. He will focus on supporting Foust Marketing’s stocking distribution and on developing specifications for its product lines in the Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Missouri markets. Bryan Foust said, “We welcome Sam back to our organization and value the skills that he brings to the organization.”
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Hal Cassidy |
Premier Material Concepts (PMC) has appointed Hal Cassidy to the position of national sales manager. He comes to PMC with nearly 20 years of sales experience, most recently as national accounts sales manager for Hancor, Inc. His experience in sales management includes working with custom products, sales promotions and forecasting for a wide variety of national accounts and customers. “We are really excited to bring aboard someone of Hal’s caliber to lead our team,” said Rich Zydonik, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our company has grown significantly over the past three years, primarily due to our focus on custom extruded materials. Hal’s background with extruded products will be a great enhancement to our PMC team and our mission to provide quality products and exceptional service to our customers.”
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Raul Cadena |
Professional Plastics would like to congratulate Raul Cadena on his relocation to the Singapore branch for two years. He been with the company for nine years. Cadena started with Professional Plastics as warehouse personnel and worked his way to inside sales in the San Jose, CA, USA location. The company would also like to welcome Jan Polanowsky to the Houston, TX, USA branch. She will be working the I-35 corridor, calling on customers in the San Antonio and Austin area. Her high energy, along with seven years of outside sales experience, is a welcome addition to Professional Plastics. Also, the Houston branch has just acquired a new Schelling CNC saw. The saw will cut up to 4'' thick and hold tolerances of +/-.005. Along with the new CNC saw, Professional Plastics Houston, Denver and San Diego have all added a new state-of-the-art phone system to handle larger calling volumes.
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Marc de Grave |
PRISMA Plastics International Incorporated has announced the appointment of Marc de Grave as vice president/general manager. He will be based out of its Kitchener location. In this role, he will be responsible for developing and implementing plans that will lead PRISMA’s efforts in growing the alliance of companies. De Grave brings many years of sales, marketing and general management experience through a various number of companies and industries including many as senior management in the plastics industry. He is a well-respected executive and PRISMA is delighted that he is now a part of its senior management team.
Vycom is very pleased to introduce Kathy Steinert, its newest territory sales manager. She will be covering the northern mid-section of the United States, which includes North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and her home state of Wisconsin. Steinert has an extensive background in sales, especially in the realm of digital printing. Steinert is ready to offer her expertise in promoting the use of Vycom’s foam and solid substrates in the rapidly growing digital field.
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Eric Vitunac |
Jim Arnet |
Kleerdex Company, LLC, manufacturer of KYDEX® thermoplastic sheet, has named Eric Vitunac director of manufacturing. Vitunac brings to the Kleerdex organization extensive experience in manufacturing management. In addition to his work with the Alcoa Companies over the past 12 years, his prior experience includes implementing productivity improvement, quality systems and cultural transformation within the manufacturing environment for companies such as Hughes Aircraft, Georgia Pacific and Alcan Aluminum. Kleerdex has named Jim Arnet Midwest regional sales manager. He will be responsible for all KYDEX thermoplastic sheet sales activity and customer relations in the Midwest region. He has strong experience in both plastics and sales, most recently at Primex Plastic Company and over 15 years at Reynolds Food Packaging. Kleerdex has also named Pacific Polymer Group as its newest manufacturer’s representative for more than 30 grades of KYDEX thermoplastic sheet in the Western United States and Western Canada. Pacific Polymer Group, with offices in Irvine and Roseville, CA, USA, and Vancouver, WA, USA, has more than 45 years of combined experience in the plastic stock shapes industry.
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Susan Was |
Curbell, Inc. is pleased to announce that Susan Was has accepted the position of talent acquisition manager. In this position, she has partnered with hiring managers and human resources directors to identify, attract and place qualified candidates into targeted positions. Was came from Remedy Intelligent Staffing. As an executive recruiter, she formulated and implemented recruiting strategies as well as recruited for executive, professional, technical and office level positions. Curbell, Inc. is a privately-held business, headquartered in Orchard Park, NY, USA, with 15 locations in the United States.
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Erland Russell |
Larry Lehmann |
Elaine Mercer |
TigerStop LLC has announced the promotion of Erland Russell to national sales manager for North America including the 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean. For the past five years, he markedly improved the sales growth in TigerStop’s Eastern region. In addition, Russell brings his many years of manufacturing experience, together with his knowledge of TigerStop products and their wide variety of applications, to the position. TigerStop also reported that Larry Lehmann has accepted a new position on the sales team as the Eastern regional sales manager. He previously drove the TigerStop Mobile Showroom while working closely with the current managers to gain the knowledge and understanding necessary to be successful. Lehmann comes to TigerStop with over 13 successful years of sales and management experience. Elaine Mercer, previously sales support manager, will be managing international sales as well as sales operations at TigerStop corporate headquarters. She has been with TigerStop for over one year and has 10 years of experience in manufacturing in sales and marketing roles. She brings great working knowledge and experience to the new position.
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Detlef Becker |
Wolfgang Moyses |
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Dirk Möller |
Jochen Feldmann |
SIMONA AG has announced its decision to expand the company’s Management Board effective from April 1, 2008. Detlef Becker, who has been appointed as a full member of the Management Board, will be responsible for sales and marketing. He joins SIMONA AG from Profine GmbH International Profile Group, Troisdorf, where he had full responsibility for the region of Western Europe. The chairman of the Management Board of SIMONA AG, Wolfgang Moyses, who until now was also the executive responsible for sales and marketing, will continue to be accountable for the SIMONA Group as a whole, alongside his executive duties within the areas of strategic business development, human resources, legal affairs and investor relations. In addition, Moyses holds the position of chairman Asia Pacific and member of the Board SIMONA AMERICA, Inc. The Management Board also includes Dirk Möller, technology and logistics, as well as Jochen Feldmann, finance and administration.
Plastifab Industries has announced the following organizational changes: Plant Manager Angelo Cianci has expanded his operational responsibilities to now include process and product improvement. Johnny Lapadula has been appointed operations manager, which will combine customer service, production scheduling/ planning and logistics under one department. Controller Sal Sorice has been appointed general manager/administration, responsible for company administration and the quality department.
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| John Nelson displays his 2007 Achievement Award. |
A&C Plastics has opened a new warehouse facility in Chicago, IL, USA, to better service customers in the Midwest and Northern U.S. The warehouse will stock a large inventory of acrylic and polycarbonate sheet in a wide range of sizes and colors. The Chicago facility is part of a strategic initiative A&C has launched to help reduce freight costs for customers in the Midwest and North. A&C now has three fully stocked warehouses, and can quickly supply customers anywhere in the country. A&C’s Colorado Springs staff recently celebrated John Nelson for his Achievement Award, which was earned for exemplary service and perfect attendance throughout 2007. Nelson received a $1,000 cash bonus.
Thermoplastic Processes reported that the Board of Directors of TPI Partners, Inc., has appointed Carlos Morales as the president of the company. He has worked in just about every department and role in the plant and warehouse during his first 23 years. Since his appointment as plant manager in July of 2003, he has provided the plant with superior leadership. Morales has taken product quality to new heights and has drastically improved the efficiency of the entire operation. Thermoplastic Processes is a 58-year-old world-class extruder of ACR, PC, PVC, CAB, PE and HIPS rod, shapes and tubing. It has manufacturing and warehouse U.S. locations in Sterling, NJ; Georgetown, DE; and Irving, CA.
DeWAL Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of PTFE and UHMW-PE film and tape, has added Michael B. McBain to its sales team in the Midwest. McBain brings with him years of experience designing, developing and implementing use of self-lubricating polymer-based components for major Fortune 500 companies. Based outside of Chicago, McBain will handle sales for DeWAL in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. He will be responsible for all products supplied by DeWAL Industries to existing and new customers. He will assist them with selection and application of PTFE and UHMW-PE films and tapes, including unsintered and low density PTFE films and specialty laminations.
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Timothy Delaney |
Dustin Davis |
Norplex-Micarta, a leading manufacturer of high performance thermoset composites, has appointed Timothy Delaney to product development engineer at its headquarters in Postville, IA, USA. He will be responsible for managing all aspects of product development, including manufacturing, testing and incorporating customer feedback. He will also oversee all aspects of the manufacturing processes associated with new product development, in addition to working with manufacturing personnel and relevant equipment to ensure quality control. Prior to his appointment, Delaney served as project engineer at Advanced Component Technologies. Norplex-Micarta has also named Dustin Davis to international operations and engineering manager. He will be responsible for Norplex-Micarta’s international supplier sourcing strategy, including foreign supplier qualification and development. His responsibilities will also include growing business in the Asian market and furthering development of products and local supplier support systems. Prior to his appointment, Davis worked for Bo-Witt Products, Inc. for more than six years.
Plastomer Technologies has announced the opening of its new headquarters in Houston, TX, USA. The newly renovated 70,000-square-foot facility combines the manufacturing of several of its product and service lines and will function as the company’s administrative headquarters. Located in Northwest Houston, the opening marks the completion of the relocation of its engineered plastic machining, PTFE fiber and PTFE tape manufacturing. Only minutes away from its PTFE products manufacturing plant, the new facility streamlines the order process through administrative consolidation housing all sales and accounting personnel. Plastomer Technologies, an EnPro Industries company, is a leading manufacturer of PTFE and engineered plastic specialty products. Product and service brands include Texolon®, Amicon Plastics®, Plastomer Products™ and Porter Process®.
CPG International Inc. (CPG), a leading manufacturer of premium, branded, low maintenance building products for both residential and commercial markets, has announced the appointment of Eric K. Jungbluth as chief executive officer. His extensive experience in commercial and residential building products through his time at HNI and Moen prepared him well for his new role at CPG. CPG International has also announced the appointment of Kevin Vincent to director of inside sales — industrial products. Vincent will be responsible for the company’s Scranton Products and Vycom business segments, leading manufacturers of high density, polypropylene and PVC polymeric solutions. Vincent joins CPG directly from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (previously Poly Hi Solidur) and offers an extensive background in product management and sales solutions involving industrial and engineering polymer products. CPG International also announced that it will continue to invest in people, product and services in order to better serve its customers.
Artek, Inc., a locally owned and operated manufacturer in Fort Wayne, IN, USA, has announced a planned increase in production capacity through the reinvestment of $1.8 million in new equipment at its plant. The equipment will allow Artek to expand its production of sheets of UHMW-PE for use in Artek’s diverse line of products for conveyor systems and other OEM industrial applications. Artek customers include companies in industries such as agriculture, bottling and canning, food processing, pulp and paper, textiles and many others. “This is our second expansion in three years and we are pleased that customer response is driving the need for increased capacity,” said Dennis Dammeyer, manager of Dammeyer Enterprises and owner of Artek. “We continue to offer industry-best UHMW-PE products and the extra capacity this project represents will ensure our ability to continue to meet the growing needs of our valued customers.” Artek currently employs 42 full-time personnel, which is expected to increase to 48 by the end of 2008. By 2011, projections call for 57 full-time workers on site.
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| A farewell party was held at the Sydney Yacht Squadron to celebrate Phil Harry’s contribution of more than 50 years of dedicated service to Mulford Plastics. |
Mulford Plastics has expanded its distribution and manufacturing into India. For more then 60, years Mulford Plastics has represented a number of reputable international manufacturers and has a major presence in the Australian, New Zealand and Asian markets as a distributor of plastic sheet and film and a manufacturer of the Alsynite branded FRP building products and has earned its reputation as being a solution provider to the markets it serves. To continue with the expansion, this year Mulford Plastics has formed a joint venture arrangement with Citadel Architectural Solutions of India, a well-known Indian company with strong associations with the construction industry. The new business will establish a FRP manufacturing facility to service the growing demand for FRP in India. This new plant will be the fourth FRP plant joining Mulford’s Australian, Indonesian and China operations. Also announced was the retirement of Phil Harry, chairman of Mulford Holdings, Australia and New Zealand operations. He retired officially on March 31, 2008, after more than 50 years of service. Haryanto Tjiptodihardo, chairman of the Mulford International Group said, “We deeply appreciate and thank Phil for his valuable contributions and his smoothing presence through the years that he has been with the Group. He will continue to be a valuable part of Mulford’s big family and will be kept informed of the Group’s developments. All of us at Mulford join me in giving our best wishes to Phil for his future endeavors.”
E & T Plastic Mfg. Co., Inc., headquartered in Long Island City NY, USA, is proud to announce the grand opening of its seventh North American location. The branch is located at 1174 Security Drive, Dallas, TX 75247. John Reeves is the branch manager of the new 17,000-square-foot facility. Reeves has been in plastics distribution for over 25 years.
Jain Americas, Inc. has announced the opening of a West Coast warehouse. This is the second warehouse facility for Jain’s foamed PVC and polycarbonate sheets. The new warehouse, located in Ontario, CA, USA, will allow Jain to better service the Western region of the United States and Canada. Jain will inventory the full range of its products at the new facility. Jain Americas, Inc. is headquartered in Columbus, OH, USA, where the main warehouse is located. Jain has also announced a recent addition and promotion to its sales and marketing team. John Gonzalez has joined the company as regional sales manager for the West Coast, and will manage all sales efforts in the Western region of the United States, (California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and Arizona), and Western Canada. He has over 20 years in plastics sales, specifically in expanded PVC sheets. He will be located in Southern California. Jon Silver has been promoted from zonal manager to regional sales manager, with responsibility for the Northeastern U.S., Southwestern U.S. and Eastern Canada. Sara Schopfer has been promoted to zonal manager covering the Mideastern United States. Jain Americas, Inc. is wholly owned by Jain Irrigation Systems Limited of Jalgaon, India.
RANDY BAKER, 37, born June 10, 1970, passed away on March 18, 2008, after fighting a brief illness. He was an avid enthusiast of motorcycling, camping, watching the Dallas Cowboys, reading and spending time with his family. He was raised in Anthony, TX, USA, graduated from Anthony High School and UTEP. He worked for the family business, Baker Glass Co., in the plastics division. Randy is survived by his loving wife, LuAnn Baker, his daughters, Sarah Louise and Jayme Charlize “Charlee” Baker. He is also survived by his parents, Dave and Sandy Baker; brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Kim Baker; maternal grandfather, Jimmy Stewart; father-in-law, LeRoy Bates; mother-in-law, LucyAnn Bates; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Loretta and Jeff Casart; his nieces and nephews, Adia and Kai Baker, and Spenser and Maddie Casart; and many very close friends and relatives.
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Robert Ellerhorst |
ROBERT ELLERHORST, 80, founder of Crown Plastics Company in Harrison, OH, USA, passed away February 20, 2008. Bob and partner Ken Meyers founded Crown Plastics in 1973 after purchasing their first continuous belt press machine and the capability to produce UHMW from Formica Corp. in Reading, OH, USA. They scoured the country and found where the remaining belt presses resided and proceeded to acquire the en tire family of machines, thereby securing Crown’s niche in the marketplace. Their first big break came when they were commissioned by Ford Motor Co. to produce a gas tank shield for the plagued Ford Pinto. Bob then brought his son Gary in to begin contacting plastics distributors to help find additional outlets for the product line. In 1992, Crown entered the snowboard market and within a short time became the dominating supplier of base material. Crown’s material is still the Hallmark of the industry and can be found on all of the medal-winning boards in the Olympics. Bob retired in 2005 at the age of 77. The father of seven children, four are currently active in the business: Gary (president/CEO), Pete (sales manager), Gregg (VP/engineering) and Cindy Reed (human resources). Bob had 19 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was a generous, compassionate man who treated all of his employees with dignity and respect and was admired and loved by all who came in contact with him.
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