People in Composites: December 2020

Cincinnati Inc. welcomes new president and CEO

Timothy L. Warning, CI president and CEO.

Cincinnati Inc. (CI, Harrison, Ohio, U.S.) announced on Dec. 3 the appointment of Timothy L. Warning as president and CEO effective Nov. 30, 2020. Tim has also been elected to the Board of Directors at CI.

Tim has a strong track record and has consistently demonstrated the ability to build highly-skilled and innovative teams to bring growth and profitability to the companies he has served. Most of his career was spent growing businesses for Occidental Chemical Corp. (20 years) and various Dover Corp. companies (16 years).

“It is both an honor and a privilege to lead a great Cincinnati company with such a rich history,” Tim says. “CI’s reputation for high quality and long-lasting durable machines is widely known throughout the industry, as is their commitment to the well-being of their employees.”

Christina March, owner and great-granddaughter of CI’s founder, Perrin G. March adds: “Tim has made a strong commitment to our mission to continuously improve upon our proud heritage by delivering high-quality and innovative machine tools to our customers, providing for the well-being of our employees and enhancing value for our stakeholders.”

Vectorply appoints new field engineer 

Vectorply Field Engineer, Edison Ospina.

Vectorply Corp. (Phenix City, Ala., U.S.) recently announced the hiring of Edison Ospina as field engineer. Ospina will fill the vacant position left by Mike Ditzler, who was promoted to southeast region sales manager.

Ospina becomes Vectorply’s second field engineer along with Drew North. The field engineering program provides on-site technical support for customers from laminate design to finished part production. Field engineers work alongside Vectorply and distributor sales and technical service managers to provide a valuable resource to composite producers.

Ospina comes to Vectorply from 3A Composites Core Materials/Baltek Inc. (Sins, Switzerland), where he worked for 21 years as technical service engineer and lab manager. He has an extensive knowledge of all composite materials used in the transportation, aerospace, industrial, marine and wind energy markets. His experience has focused on quality and research and development of new materials and processes. Tapping into his experiences, Ospina can help guide customers to the best materials and processes to suit their application.

Vice President of Composite Engineering Trevor Gundberg is excited to bring on another technically proficient engineer who is very familiar to Vectorply. “Most of us in Vectorply’s sales and engineering groups have worked alongside Edison on many customer projects over the past two decades and seen firsthand his level of skill, knowledge and professionalism,” Gundberg says. “With the recent promotion of Mike Ditzler to our southeast region sales manager role, we had an important field engineering position open that required all of these attributes, and we are lucky that we able to bring on someone of his caliber.”

“Our main goal at Vectorply is to make it easy for customers to do business with us,” Tamir Levy, VP of Sales at Vectorply adds. “Edison’s expertise and experience allow us to help customers from beginning to end of their production process and allows us to add even more value as a supplier. We are excited to have him on our team.”

Andreas Nauen, CEO of Siemens Gamesa, elected Chairman of WindEurope

WindEurope’s Board of Directors has elected Andreas Naeun, CEO of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE, Zamudio, Spain), as the association’s Chair for the next 18 months. Nauen will lead the association together with Nicolas Couderc, EDF Renewables executive vice president, who serves as Vice Chair.

Nauen steps in at a critical juncture for the wind industry. Europe wants a major expansion of wind energy to deliver climate-neutrality by 2050. Further, the EU is planning to raise its 2030 ambition on emissions and renewables in support of that.   

Nauen, a mechanical engineer by background, has been SGRE’s CEO since June 2020. Before that he was CEOs of SGRE’s Offshore Business. Previously he was CEO of Siemens Wind Power and of REpower/Senvion. He has also served as Chairman of the wind energy part of the German machine tool manufacturers association, the VDMA.   

“We’re delighted to have Andreas Nauen as our new Chair. Having one of world’s leading turbine manufacturers at the helm of WindEurope is a great asset to us. And Andreas knows the onshore and offshore wind business inside out. He’s an ideal person to steer what our industry does to deliver the energy transition and to help drive a green economic recovery in Europe,” says WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.

Composite Integration welcomes new Design Engineering Manager

Steve Ward, design engineering manager for Composite Integration.

Composite Integration (Saltash, U.K.) has continued to invest in  strengthening its business and team by welcoming Steve Ward as design engineering manager and part of the company’s senior management team.

Steve has more than 20 years of experience as a design and manufacturing engineer, a technical director and general manager and brings a great track record of management experience to Composite Integration’s team. He also has significant experience in the marine, oil and gas sectors involving large-scale PU molding and composites projects as part of his portfolio. He will take on the day-to-day management of the engineering team as well as contribute to the strategic direction and management of the company.

Further, Steve will be joined by new team members in December and January.

Exel Composites hires new North American area sales manager

Marc Tagher, Exel Composites' area sales manager.

Exel Composites (Finland) has appointed Marc Tagher as its new area sales manager for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Tagher will oversee customer experiences in one of Exel’s key manufacturing regions and will support both new and existing customers to solve challenges using composite materials.

Tagher, who will be based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Erlanger, Kentucky, joins Exel Composites with a background in engineering and managerial roles for numerous American industrial manufacturing and engineering companies.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky, Tagher spent eleven years in engineering roles for industrial separation equipment manufacturer, Sweco (Florence, Ken.). In 2006, he obtained the position as procurement manager for the company.

After three years in this role, Tagher became global screens manufacturing manager for Sweco, before undertaking the role of program manager at sealing solutions manufacturer, Sur-Seal (Dent, Ohio). He now joins Exel from his sales manager position for Austrian silicone injection molding technology specialists Nexus Elastomers.

“My career spans 25 years and in this time, I have developed a range of leadership and technical skills that will complement my role at Exel Composites,” says Tagher. “North America is one of Exel’s largest markets, and as the new area sales manager for this region, I will work to expand Exel’s customer base and consult customers on the most suitable composite solutions for their applications.”

“Exel Composites has a defined growth strategy to reach our global footprint and adding Marc to our sales team helps us to work towards this, while better serving our customers’ experiences,” adds Olli Tevä, SVP Sales and Marketing for Exel Composites. “Marc’s experience in project management, manufacturing and process development equips him with the relevant skills to develop successful projects and customer relations for Exel. We look forward to welcoming him on board.”

Northrop Grumman names CTO

Scott Stapp, Northrop Grumman CTO

Northrop Grumman Corp. (Falls Church, Va., U.S.) has named Scott Stapp CTO. Stapp will report to Kathy Warden, chairman, chief executive officer and president, and will work closely with the executive leadership team.

As CTO, Stapp will lead the company’s technology strategy. He will help to ensure the company continues to leverage current technology and identify new solutions to bring to customers, creating new business opportunities and strengthening the company’s position on existing programs. He will also play a key role in engaging and developing the company’s technical talent.

Previously, Stapp was vice president, resiliency and rapid prototyping, with Space Systems, leading the sector’s rapid prototyping and resiliency programs across critical space missions. Prior to this, he served as vice president, applied research and technology development, with Aeronautics Systems.

Before joining Northrop Grumman in 2014, Stapp led the governance, acquisition and oversight of all Department of Defense (DoD) special access programs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and served as the principal staff assistant to the undersecretary of defense, acquisition, technology and logistics.

Stapp holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in national resource management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

STRUCTeam appoints automotive and transportation specialists

Dr. Joseph Laux, STRUCTeam's senior technical advisor.

STRUCTeam (Cowes, U.K.), an independent composites engineering consultancy, reported on Dec. 8 that it has appointed Dr. Roman Hillermeier as transport sector lead and Dr. Joseph Laux as senior technical advisor. These important new additions are part of a wider investment strategy that will develop STRUCTeam’s service offering within the automotive and transportation sectors. This will be achieved through the delivery of engineering, management and supply chain services for customers seeking support with composite technology and application developments.

Dr. Roman Hillermeier, STRUCTeam's transport sector lead.

Roman Hillermeier brings more than 20 years of composites industry experience from several technology and business development focused roles. After earning a Ph.D. in Polymer Composites in the U.S., Roman held positions at Hexcel, Devold AMT and Hexion in a variety of senior roles focusing on the automotive, aerospace and renewable energy markets. In addition to a strong knowledge of the composites industry, Roman brings in-depth understanding of materials, manufacturing processes and the composite supply chain.

Joseph Laux will support STRUCTeam’s automotive activity and brings more than 30 years of expertise from the material and automotive industries. Joseph achieved a doctorate in chemistry and has held positions in automotive and material companies such as Magna, BMW and Dow Chemical. He also serves on several boards including the Plastics in Automotive Engineering Association.

Julien Sellier, founder and managing director of STRUCTeam, says,  “Roman and Joe are excellent additions to the team. They possess extensive knowledge of the automotive and transportation markets and will be vital to our growth within this sector. The pace of change in today’s composites market is exceptional and our team is committed to ensuring we support our clients, stay at the forefront and continue to innovate as we have always done.”

Polygon Composites appoints new CEO

Composite tubing manufacturer Polygon Composites (Walkerton, Ind., U.S.) appointed Randy Rice as CEO. Rice, a seasoned manufacturing executive with more than 30 years of demonstrated performance in diverse markets and industries, was most recently vice president at Signode, the Transit Packaging Division of Crown Holdings, Inc.

“Randy brings a proven track record in collaborative team building and company growth through key acquisitions, market development, capacity expansion and market penetration. Randy’s leadership will further enhance Polygon’s value to its current customers while identifying new opportunities for company growth and product development,” says J.A. Lacy, chairman of Polygon Composites’ board of directors.

Hennecke GROUP Advisory Board appoints Christian Kleinjung as new CFO

Christian Kleinjung, Hennecke GROUP CFO

“I am convinced that Christian Kleinjung's engagement is a perfect  addition to the Hennecke management team. As an experienced finance manager, he can bring his profound knowledge of the international machine construction business to the role of CFO and actively shape the step-by-step restructuring of the whole company group,” says Thomas Wildt, CEO of the Hennecke GROUP (Sankt Augustin,
Germany). “We now have a much broader management base which is an essential prerequisite for reacting more effectively to future challenges and for strengthening and expanding our market position.”

As Chairman of the Management Board, Wildt has been actively driving the transformation of the polyurethane specialists who have their headquarters in Sankt Augustin, to a highly effective organizational structure since 2019. Despite the pandemic crisis, Hennecke has recently invested around €2 million in the step-by-step structural transformation of its main facility in Germany as part of the "Hennecke 2.0" strategy.

Responsibilities in the different areas of the company will also be restructured under the global transformation to enable more efficient business actions in the future. Thomas Wildt takes over the areas strategy and operations, Rolf Trippler is in charge of the sales and service areas as CSO, and, in addition to finance and accounting, Christian Kleinjung is primarily responsible for purchasing, logistics and facility management.

Before joining the Hennecke GROUP, Christian Kleinjung worked as CEO at an international machine tool manufacturer. The business graduate began his professional career as a consultant at a well-known auditing firm and then took on various national and international top management roles in medium-sized industrial companies. Born in the German Rhineland, he was responsible — also in his role as CFO — for the finance and supply chain management departments, and gained significant international experience, particularly in Asia and the Middle East.

Christian Kleinjung is approaching his new tasks with great motivation: “Polyurethane is an exciting sector and offers tremendous potential. I'm really pleased to be setting the financial course for a leading global provider in the future.”