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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 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 Non-Executive Chairman of the SURTECO North American Board of Directors, Mr. Schorr provides critical strategic leadership and extensive knowledge and direction to the management group.
The company is also announcing that 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 Services (Thailand), Inc and the global coated fabrics business of SURTECO.
Commenting on these changes, 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.
About SURTECO North America
SURTECO North America is a division of SURTECO GROUP SE, based in Buttenweisen, Germany, with international operations. The company combines leading national and international brands for surface technology under one roof. Its comprehensive product portfolio includes papers printed with decor designs, impregnated materials, release papers, decorative flat foils, and edgebandings based on specialist technical papers and plastics. This portfolio is complemented by moldings made of plastics, technical extrusions (profiles) for industry, and roller shutter systems. With more than 3,000 employees at 22 production sites worldwide, the company operates in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia. The North American divisions operate out of facilities in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ontario, Canada, and Rayong, Thailand. Customers of the SURTECO GROUP primarily come from the wood-based, flooring, and furniture industries, as well as from interior design.
