Happenings SURTECO Makes Changes Following Recent Acquisition SURTECO North America has recently announced important changes to its North American leadership structure. These changes come as the company continues to move forward with its recent acquisition of the operating assets of the OMNOVA Solutions, Inc’s., films and laminates business and its coated fabrics business. SURTECO is pleased to name Lawrence (Larry) Schorr as Co-Chair of SURTECO North America, who together with Wolfgang Moyses, Group CEO of SURTECO, will guide the company forward. Previously NonExecutive Chairman of the SURTECO North American Board of Directors, Mr. Schorr provides critical strategic leadership and extensive knowledge and direction to the management group. Terry Hemmelgarn will become CEO of SURTECO North America, including the OMNOVA films and laminates division, effective January 1, 2024. Mr. Hemmelgarn joined the organization post-acquisition as CEO of OMNOVA and has played a key leadership role in the successful integration of the two companies. As part of this leadership transition, Mike Phillips will be retiring as CEO from SURTECO North America at the end of this year. Mr. Phillips has been with the organization for over 35 years and is credited with developing SURTECO’s professional and team-focused culture which continues to drive both business success and lasting industry relationships. Rodney Cuevas will continue to be CEO of OMNOVA Engineered
Accoya USA Manufacturing Facility Update: Reactors Installed Construction of Accoya USA’s new 100,000-square-foot U.S. manufacturing facility continues to progress and is on track to start operations in mid-2024. Progress to date includes completing ground works, ongoing steelwork, main warehouse construction, placement of multiple large sub-contracts, and procurement of more than 80 percent of major equipment. The reactors, essential for the wood acetylation process, arrived in May and were successfully installed at the new Kingsport, TN, facility. Accoya, the ultra-high performance sustainable wood, broke ground on its first U.S. manufacturing facility in June 2022. The plant is a joint venture between Accsys, the only acetylated wood producer in the world, and Eastman, a global specialty materials company. As part of the joint venture, Accsys leverages Eastman’s world-class acetyl production capabilities to produce its Accoya wood products.
Services (Thailand), Inc and the global coated fabrics business of SURTECO. Wolfgang Moyses, Group CEO, stated, “I would first like to thank Mike Phillips for his many years of dedicated, loyal, and successful leadership of our business in North America. His broad and deep relationships in the industry are unmatched and we hope that he will continue to provide guidance and advice to our new team in the years ahead as special advisor to the office of chairman and a board member of SURTECO North America.” Moyses further commented, “Terry Hemmelgarn brings a long history of success in managing larger organizational entities and has also developed a strong and successful relationship with customers, suppliers and associates in the films and laminates business. In these difficult and unpredictable macroeconomic times, we will rely on his leadership to both weather the storm and grow the business.” Lastly, Moyses said, “I have had many years of successfully working with Larry Schorr and as a Co-Chair of SURTECO North America, he will allow me to focus more attention on the many challenging issues we face in Europe and Asia.” As the company perfects and grows the leadership structure of SURTECO North America, the company believes it is well-positioned to lead the industry forward in terms of design, customer service, best-in-class manufacturing, and team dynamics. With an experienced and enthusiastic leadership team in place, we are confident that our customers will continue to receive excellent service and innovative products throughout the coming years. n
“The reactors represent a major milestone in our construction process here in the U.S.,” said Rod Graf, general manager of Accoya USA. “The arrival of the reactors was significant for the community, closing roads—due to the size—to make way to the facility’s location.” North America represents the largest potential regional market for Accoya, and the new plant will ensure a ready supply of Accoya to the U.S. market. Once operational, the Kingsport facility will only supply the North American market, representing an additional 67 percent increase in capacity compared to 2022 volumes worldwide. The company combines chemistry, technology, and ingenuity to make high performance wood products that are extremely durable and stable, opening new opportunities for the built environment and giving the world a choice to build sustainably. n Visit the new Accoya USA website at www.accoya.com/accoya-usa/ to learn more.