People in Composites: February 2021

Park Aerospace announces Board of Directors appointee

Park Aerospace Corp. (Newton, Kan., U.S.) has announced that its Board of Directors has elected D. Bradley (Brad) Thress as a director of the company.

Mr. Thress, president and CEO of FlightSafety International (Melville, N.Y., U.S.), a pre-eminent professional pilot training company, has 
served in that capacity since February of 2020. FlightSafety reportedly operates learning centers in 11 countries, employs more than 1,800 highly experienced professional instructors and offers more than 4,000 courses for pilots, technicians, flight attendants and dispatchers.

From 1992 through February of 2020, Mr. Thress worked for Textron
Aviation (Wichita, Kan., U.S.) and held a number of key positions at that company, including senior VP of Global Parts, Programs and Flight Operations, Engineering, Business Jets and Customer Service. Mr. Thress started at Textron Aviation as a demonstration pilot. 

Further, Mr. Thress served in the United States Air Force as a T-38A instructor pilot, a KC-135R aircraft commander and a T-38A and AT-38B detachment commander, among other positions. Mr. Thress
received a Bachelor of engineering science and mechanics from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) and an MBA from Baker University in Overland Park, Kansas.

“I am very pleased that Brad has joined our board. Since, at the end of the day, Park is a supplier to aircraft OEMs, Brad’s deep and extensive experience in key management positions at Textron Aviation will be particularly valuable to us,” says Brian Shore, Park’s chairman and CEO. “I have known Brad through our dealings with Textron Aviation for close to fifteen years, and Brad knows Park and our product lines, technologies and capabilities very well. Brad also has an especially good understanding of Park’s culture, which I believe will prove to be invaluable to the board and to Park. Welcome to Park’s board, Brad! We are all looking forward to working with you.”

Metyx USA announces new North American sales manager

Murphy Mahaffey, Metyx USA sales manager.

Metyx Group (Istanbul, Turkey) has recently hired Murphy Mahaffey as sales manager for its North America region, Metyx USA (Ranlo, N.C., U.S.).

Mr. Mahaffey, formerly the marketing director of international sales for GlasCraft, Inc. (Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) is an innovative and dynamic global leader with more than 20 years of experience defining, implementing, and scaling programs that are customer-centric, measurable and profitable. In addition to specializing on RTM systems, Mahaffey has been delivering his experiences on foam and coating and machinery.

“He brings together a practical sales perspective and a forward-looking technology optimism, and I look forward to seeing him to help us shape the future of Metyx USA,” says Ugur Ustunel, CEO of Metyx.

“I'm delighted to be joining the Metyx USA team,” says Mahaffey. “This company has demonstrated rapid strategic growth and new investments in the last few years. I look forward to driving continued growth of the customer portfolio and bring even more value to our clients.”

Zetec names new president

Dave Whitley, new president of Zetec Inc.

On Feb. 1 Zetec Inc. (Snoqualmie, Wash., U.S.) named Dave Whitley president. He replaces Wayne Wilkinson, who is retiring in March 2021.

Whitley brings extensive executive, management, strategic and omni-channel distribution experience across several industries. He joins Zetec from True Brands (Seattle, Wash., U.S.), a global wholesale distributor of beverage and barware products. As president and CEO, Whitley was responsible for the strategic direction, business development and overall operation of the company, which distributes thousands of individual products from nearly 40 distinct brands to more than 30 countries.

Prior to True Brands, Whitley was president and CEO at Global Harvest Foods (Seattle), a national consumer-products manufacturer specializing in pet food, and was chief operating officer at Nuprecon (Snoqualmie), a national commercial and industrial demolition and environmental remediation specialty subcontractor.

“Dave’s strategic leadership skills will further solidify the strong foundation of technical expertise, partnerships and customer commitment that already exists at Zetec,” says Chris Krieps, Group Executive-Process Technologies, at Roper Technologies, Zetec’s parent company.

According to Whitley, “This is a great time to join Zetec, which has elevated the standards of what customers should expect from a global NDT inspection technology leader. I’m looking forward to leading the company through its next stages of growth.”

Wayne Wilkinson “leaves Zetec in much better shape with plenty of forward-looking business opportunities,” Krieps said. “I would like to thank Wayne for his outstanding leadership and deep commitment to the company.”

Wilkinson joined Zetec in September 2014 and helped the company pivot from a legacy nuclear inspection business to an innovator in eddy current and ultrasonic inspection technologies across a wide range of industries, including power generation, oil and gas, aerospace and transportation, military, heavy industry and manufacturing.

Workhorse appoints VP of commercial development

Workhorse Group Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) has announced that automotive industry veteran Chris Nordh has joined the company as VP of commercial development, a newly created role designed to augment and expand Workhorse’s sales and support infrastructure.

Formerly the senior director of Advanced Vehicle Technology & Energy Products with Ryder System Inc. (Miami, Fla., U.S.), Nordh led business strategy, product expansion and partnerships for Ryder in the area of next-generation vehicle technology. With a background in leveraging the product and technology expertise of emerging electric vehicle (EV) OEMs, Nordh is said to have effectively created a multi-national OEM support system, experience which will be valuable in supporting Workhorse channel partners.

“Chris is a welcome addition to our leadership team, bringing extensive experience in scaling sales and support for Ryder and its many OEM partners, particularly in the EV field,” says Workhorse CEO Duane Hughes. “His deep advanced technology vehicle experience will be invaluable as we continue to build production of our C-Series 100% electric vehicles and expand our reach into new markets.”

“I believe strong service and support solutions are instrumental in creating a satisfied and, therefore, repeat customer base,” adds Nordh. “Workhorse channel partners include some of America’s leading commercial vehicle distributors and service providers, deserving of a comprehensive enablement platform. Users should have a better and simpler vehicle experience in every way when choosing to go electric, and our goal is to make that a reality through smart solutions and strategic partnerships.”

Firefly Aerospace announces new Board of Directors, corporate expansion plans

New Firefly Aerospace Board of Directors Deborah Lee James and Robert Cardillo.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., has announced the appointment of Deborah Lee James and Robert Cardillo to its Board of Directors. Firefly’s new three-person board, including Firefly CEO, Dr. Tom Markusic, will be led by Ms. James, serving as chairman of the Board.

Deborah Lee James has a three-decade track record in national security, including 20 years of U.S. government service, with time on Capitol Hill as a professional staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and two tours in the Pentagon, first as an assistant secretary of defense and later as the secretary of the Air Force. As secretary, Ms. James also was the principal defense space advisor. She has led large industry teams in support of the military, most notably as president of the technical and engineering sector of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC, Reeston, Va., U.S.) responsible for $2 billion in defense contract revenue and 8,700 employees. Ms. James is the author of the leadership book “Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success,” and serves on the boards of various organizations including Textron (Providence, R.I., U.S.), Unisys (Blue Bell, Penn., U.S.), Noblis (Virg.), the Penfed Foundation (Alexandria, Va., U.S.) and LeanIn.Org.

Robert Cardillo is president of The Cardillo Group (TCG), delivering strategic and operational expertise to create an enhanced awareness of planet Earth to enable improved decision-making. Before forming TCG in May 2019, Mr. Cardillo was the sixth director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Virg.) from 2014 until 2019. He led transformation of the Agency’s future value proposition through innovative partnerships with the growing commercial geospatial marketplace. During his 35+ years of public service, Robert served in leadership positions within the organization of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“We are thrilled to have Debbie and Robert join the Firefly Board of Directors,” says Dr. Markusic. “Their guidance will be critical as Firefly transitions from a rapid product development company to an integrated provider of launch, in-space and lunar mission services for commercial, civil and national security space customers. Their experience in the private sector and as leaders of critical U.S. government organizations will enable Firefly to fully realize our corporate objective of becoming the preeminent end-to-end space transportation company in the nation’s small space industrial base.”

Concurrently, with the addition of the new board of directors, Firefly intends to implement an internal restructuring of the company, which will reflect the strategic objectives of Firefly and assure focus and resources are properly allocated to effectively develop its core spacecraft and launch vehicle product lines.

Dr. Markusic says, “The number of employees at Firefly has nearly doubled over the last year, and we continue to aggressively recruit top technical talent to develop our next-generation spacecraft and rockets.  We will also be conducting a nationwide executive talent search over the coming months to provide strong leadership for the new business units.  Space is expected to be the fastest growing industry of the twenty-first century, and Firefly is determined to be perfectly positioned to lead the way in this new emerging space economy.”

Continental Structural Plastics CEO names general manager, composites business unit for Teijin

Teijin Ltd.’s Steve Rooney, general manager for its Composites Business Unit.

Continental Structural Plastics (CSP, Auburn Hills, Mich., U.S.), a Teijin Group company, announced on Feb. 11 that Steve Rooney, CEO, has been promoted to general manager of the Composites Business Unit of Teijin Ltd. (Tokoyo, Japan).

In this expanded role, Rooney will report directly to Akimoto Uchikawa, who has been named president of the Materials Business. Steve will continue to be a Teijin Group corporate officer, while Uchikawa becomes a Teijin Group executive officer.

As general manager of the Composites Business Unit, Rooney will now be responsible for all composites operations in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. This will include Japanese composites operations in Matsuyama and Ibigawa; and the operations of Inapal Plásticos (Leça do Balio, Portgual), Benet Automotive (Milovice, Czechia) and Teijin Automotive Center Europe, in addition to CSP’s existing operations in Pouancé, France. It also includes the operations of CSP Victall. In January, CSP Victall, originally a 50/50 joint venture with Victall Qingdao Railway Ltd. (Shandong, China), became a wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin via a share transfer. This transfer took place to allow Victall to focus on its core rail business, while CSP Victall continues to expand the use of advanced composites among Chinese automotive OEMs.

“This organizational change is an important step in allowing us to unify Teijin’s composites operations around the world,” says Rooney. “We will be able to standardize operations and systems across all facilities globally, enabling us to provide our customers with seamless service and access to leading-edge composite technologies, regardless of where they are located.”

“I am convinced Steve will strengthen our capabilities across our composites operations. The composites footprint we now have further enables us to meet our customers’ needs for lightweight but strong automotive components,” adds Uchikawa. “As we integrate these global operations, we are committed to embarking on a robust life cycle assessment process, including a complete analysis of the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit during our production process.”

These management changes will become effective April 1, 2021.

Vestas to appoint new regional president of Asia Pacific

To strengthen Vestas’ presence and market position in strategic and fast-growing markets in Asia Pacific and drive operational alignment across the value chain, Vestas Asia Pacific (Keppel Bay Tower, Singapore) has appointed Purvin Patel as regional president of Asia Pacific. Mr. Patel joins Vestas from a position as CEO of ISS UK & Ireland, bringing more than 25 years of commercial and operational leadership experience from this role, as well as previous leadership positions at Walmart, Kingfisher Group (London, U.K.) and RadhaKrishna Foodland. Mr. Patel takes up the role today and succeeds Clive Turton, who will leave the company after heading Vestas Asia Pacific since 2017.

“I’m delighted to welcome Purvin Patel on board to lead Vestas Asia Pacific as renewables continue to expand their reach in a region with growing electricity needs,” says Juan Araluce, executive VP and chief sales officer. “Wind and renewable energy have become mainstream, and Purvin’s solid operational background will be a strong asset as we broaden our presence in the region’s existing fast-growing markets and leverage our joint venture in Japan. I’d also like to thank Clive Turton for his contributions to Vestas throughout the last four years and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.”

During his time at ISS, Patel also served as country manager and CEO of ISS Facility Services India, which employs approximately 60,000 employees, and has been responsible for driving key strategic and transformation projects at board level.

French Oil Mill Machinery Co. honors Chairman and CEO, Daniel P. French

French Oil Machinery Co. Chairman and CEO, Daniel French.

On Feb. 15, Daniel P. French, French Oil Mill Machinery Co. (Piqua, Ohio, U.S.) chairman and CEO, celebrated his 50 years of service with the fourth-generation, family owned manufacturing company.

Dan joined the company in 1971 first working in the factory as a machine tool operator, and worked his way up in the company to become the third generation of the French family to serve as president, a role he held from 1982-2013.

On Feb. 9, Ohio United States Congressman Warren Davidson surprised Dan with an on-site visit to present him with a framed copy of the remarks made in the Congressional Record honoring Dan’s career and service.

On Feb. 11, during an all company meeting, Dan’s daughter, Tayte French Lutz, the company’s director of marketing, corporate secretary and treasurer, presented Dan with letters of congratulations from United States Senator Rob Portman, Ryan Augsburger on behalf of the Ohio Manufacturer’s Association, multiple company board members, a Proclamation from City of Piqua Mayor Kris Lee and a Certificate of Service from the company.

Under Dan’s fifty years of leadership French Oil Mill Machinery Co. has reportedly experienced growth through the emphasized core values of customer first and continuous innovation, supplying custom equipment built to last for customers globally. Throughout his career, Dan’s business management and efforts are said to have improved the lives of countless employees and colleagues.

Dan also espouses partnership with the company’s many stakeholders in the Piqua, Ohio, community and beyond. Many companies, industry associations and civic organizations have benefited from his contributions.

Dan’s tradition of service and “giving back” started in 1966 when he joined the United States Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. He served five years active duty, including service in Vietnam, before joining French Oil. Dan continued his military service in the USAF Reserve, until he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1994.

To quote Representative Davidson, “Southwest Ohio is a better place thanks to people like Dan French.”

EconCore appoints aerospace honeycomb expert as CTO

Olivier Rozant, EconCore CTO.

EconCore (Leuven, Belgium) has appointed Olivier Rozant as CTO beginning Jan. 2021. Previously, Dr. Rozant gained extensive experience at DuPont (Wilmington, Del., U.S.) exploring the potential uses of Nomex and Kevlar aerospace honeycombs, for which he secured a DuPont Sustainable Growth Excellence Award.

This appointment brings Dr Rozant full circle as his PhD investigated how direct complex shape thermoforming of PEI flat-based sandwich preforms using selected textiles reinforcements could be applied in aircraft interiors.

Olivier’s early career also involved working with Michelin (Clermont-Ferrand, France) on Airless tyre, a composite-based elastic wheel. He partnered then with Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. (Stans, Switzerland) on thermoplastic sandwiches, with Airbus (Toulouse, France) on lightweight honeycombs, with FAA (Washington D.C., U.S.)/EASA (Cologne, Germany)/CMH-17 groups on sandwich disbond and also with F1 Teams on novel sandwich concepts.

Last year Olivier also reportedly delivered a keynote presentation on the “Past, present and future of Nomex-based and Kevlar-based honeycomb cores in aircraft applications,” at the Composite-Sandwich Conference, organized jointly between the Fraunhofer IMWS in Halle (Germany) and EconCore/ThermHex.  

“Olivier’s experience in DuPont working with Nomex and Kevlar is the perfect fit for our high-performance thermoplastic honeycomb development. His skills and experience will take us to the commercial introduction of our technology in aerospace markets,” says Dr. Jochen Pflug, CEO of EconCore. “I have known him for many years and always been impressed with his technical knowledge and skill, but also how he gets the best out of the teams he is working in. He is a huge addition to our team.”

Olivier adds: “I have never been the type of scientist who was happy to work isolated in a lab. My best work has come about from combining small team capabilities, finding synergies with partners and spending time with those who are using the various applications — our customers. EconCore is enabling me to use these skills to move towards more sustainable solutions in honeycomb technology, bringing in disruptive solutions which will help to make air and ground travel more environmentally friendly, reduce waste and shape the future potential of honeycomb cores in sandwich structures.”

Dr. Rozant completed his PhD by EPFL (Lausanne). He also worked on unidirectional continuous fibers at Newcastle University as part of the Erasmus program.

Chemicals Executive Daniele Ferrari to join SK Capital partners

SK Capital Partners’ Senior Director Daniele Ferrari

SK Capital Partners, LP (New York. N.Y., U.S.) a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, announced on Feb. 16 that it will be expanding its team with the addition of Daniele Ferrari as senior director.

Mr. Ferrari brings more than 35 years of direct operating and executive experience in the chemicals industry, most recently serving as the CEO of Versalis S.p.A. (San Donato Milanese, Italy), said to be one of Europe’s largest chemicals companies, and as chairman of Matrìca S.p.A. (Porto Torres, Italy), a joint-venture with Novamont, a bioplastics industry company. At Versalis S.p.A., Mr. Ferrari led the company’s efforts to reposition downstream and grow the company’s portfolio of higher margin, specialty and renewable chemical products, including creating the company’s BioTech global business unit. Mr. Ferrari started his career at Agip Petroli (Rome, Italy), a subsidiary of Eni S.p.A. (Rome), and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI, London, U.K.), before joining Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Texas, U.S.) in 1997, where he held numerous roles and international assignments spanning his 14-year tenure, during which he ultimately became the global president of Huntsman’s Performance Products division.

Mr. Ferrari also brings significant leadership in the area of sustainability, promoting processes that support a more circular economy and the development and usage of renewable chemical solutions. He was the immediate past president of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC, Brussels, Belgium), which is the largest trade association for the chemical industry in Europe. He previously served as president of PlasticsEurope Bruxelles (Bruxelles), the association of European plastics manufacturers, and as a board member of Alliance to End Plastics Waste (Singapore).

Mr. Ferrari has an industrial chemical background and was awarded an Honorary Master’s degree in Chemical Sciences from the University of Ferrara. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Huntsman Corp. and Venator Materials PLC (Stockton-on-Tees, U.K.), where he chairs the Audit Committee. Mr. Ferrari also serves on the board of the Oxford University Business Economics Program.

“Daniele brings an unparalleled level of operating and executive leadership experience to the firm. He has successfully led multiple companies within the chemical industry for decades and shares a strong passion for sustainability,” says Barry Siadat, co-founder and managing director at SK Capital. “Daniele’s deep knowledge of and experience in our sectors of focus make him an ideal match for his new position at SK Capital.”

GRP Solutions appoints new operations director

John Birch, GRP Solutions Operations Director.

GRP Solutions (Havant, U.K.) announces the appointment of seasoned professional John Birch in the newly created role of operations director. John joins the company from Stormking/Epwin Group (Tamworth, England) and brings a wealth of experience to its business to assist in GRP’s next phase of growth. He is a previous winner of the prestigious “Supply Chain Professional of the Year” award and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply.

John Birch, operations director of GRP Solutions, comments, “I am thrilled to join the GRP Solutions team, some of whom I have had the chance to meet already during my time working at Stormking. I am looking forward to helping the company adapt its operations in preparation of its ambitious journey of growth. I am also looking forward to making long-term friendships across the company and very much to being part of the GRP Solutions family.”

“We have always put people and customer service at the heart of our business and as we continue to expand, we continue to look at ways to improve the quality of our service and the support we provide our teams,” says Brian Harpur, managing director of GRP Solutions. “John Birch is a perfect fit for our business, he embraces our culture and is a highly skilled professional with a strong track record of improving performance. We are also excited to have John on board given our shared interest in developing recycling solutions for the composites industry. We wish him every success in his new role.”

Boom Supersonic appoints former Boeing CEO Phil Condit and IDEO's Executive Chair Tim Brown to Advisory Council

It was announced on Feb. 19 that Boom Supersonic (Denver, Colo., U.S.) has appointed two renowned leaders to the Boom Advisory Council: Phil Condit, former chairman and CEO of The Boeing Co. (Chicago, Ill., U.S.), and Tim Brown, executive chair of celebrated design firm IDEO (Palo Alto, Calif., U.S.).  These advisors play a key role in helping bring sustainable supersonic flight to airlines and passengers around the world.

“Since our founding, our advisors have been active, crucial contributors toward building the supersonic future, and I'm honored to welcome Phil Condit and Tim Brown to this group,” says Blake Scholl, Boom's founder and CEO. “Both bring invaluable perspectives — Phil as a veteran leader in commercial aviation, and Tim as a widely respected innovator in human-centered design.”

Phil Condit has built both airplanes and companies in his storied career as CEO and chairman of Boeing, where he helped transform the company into a broad-based, global enterprise. Condit led the acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, and Boeing's revenues more than doubled during his service. He began his career working on Boeing's supersonic transport program, and he has long shared Boom's passion for faster flight. Condit held leadership roles on a large number of Boeing commercial programs, including the 747 and 757. As an executive vice president and general manager, he led the team that launched the 777, where he pioneered integrated design and build teams comprising customers, suppliers and employees. As Boom prepares for the upcoming launch of Overture's manufacturing, Condit's end-to-end experience delivering large commercial airplanes will help solidify Boom's lead in civil supersonic aviation.

“The potential of faster flight is an exciting next step in civil aviation. I was drawn to Boom by the significant progress the team has already made in developing a sustainable supersonic airliner,” says Condit. “Boom's team has the technical depth and know-how to deliver on its vision, and I'm excited to have another opportunity to help make aviation history.”

Tim Brown is an award-winning industrial designer and executive chair of IDEO, a global design firm. Brown has exhibited work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Design Museum in London and the Axis Gallery in Tokyo, and he is a frequent speaker at the World Economic Forum and TED. Brown popularized design thinking, advocating for a human-centered approach to innovation. Taking into account the interdisciplinary nature of design, Brown's perspective will help Boom deliver a major step change in the flying experience for passengers and crews aboard Overture.

“Boom has an inspiring vision of global connectivity, and I am inspired by the company's commitment to sustainable speed,” adds Brown. “Overture is an opportunity to create a truly human-centered travel experience. While the first-order benefits of faster travel are clear, I'm fascinated by what second-order benefits supersonic commercial airplanes will offer.”

Teijin makes personnel changes

It was announced on Feb. 5 that Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) has made the following personnel changes effective as of April 1, 2021: