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Manufacturing 2025: IMAKOJI, HIROHITO
In February, the Swiss equipment manufacturer appointed Imakoji as Liebherr USA’s second managing director, jointly sharing executive responsibilities with Kai Friedrich, who has served as its Newport News-based managing director since 2021. Imakoji oversees strategic planning and the execution of growth strategies for corporate, finance and administrative functions. Liebherr USA provides sa[...]
Manufacturing 2025: STEITZ, JOHN M.
In 2019, Steitz was named president and CEO of surface protection films and aluminum extrusions manufacturer Tredegar, a 1989 spinoff of Richmond fuel additives company Ethyl. Steitz had served on Tredegar’s board of directors since 2017 while also serving as CEO of additives supplier Addivant, which merged with SI Group in 2018. He was also […]
Manufacturing 2025: ROBINSON, ANTHONY ‘TONY’
Robinson took over in 2024 as the head of Framatome, the Lynchburg-based North American subsidiary of the French nuclear equipment, services and fuel producer. During more than three decades of experience in the nuclear industry, Robinson has held a series of executive positions. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of Structural […]
Manufacturing 2025: FAIRBANKS, BRYAN
Fairbanks became Trex’s president and CEO after the retirement of James Cline in 2020. Previously, he had been the publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. Trex products are sold through more than 6,700 retail outlets across six continents. Over the next five years, Trex hopes to double […]
Manufacturing 2025: LUCK IV, CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’
Representing the third generation of the Luck family at the helm, Charlie Luck IV became president of the 102-year-old crushed stone company in 1995 and additionally CEO in 1999. While studying at Virginia Military Institute, he officially joined the family business as a summer trainee. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering in 1983, […]
Manufacturing 2025: MINKKINEN, MARCUS
In September 2024, Minkkinen succeeded Koen Knippenberg, who managed the plant for more than two years before being promoted to senior vice president of group truck operations for Volvo’s North America branch. A native of Sweden whose father and grandfather worked for Volvo, Minkkinen joined the company in 2004 as a trainee after receiving a […]
Manufacturing 2025: WERGE, ROB
In 2022, Werge became president and CEO of Cadence, a contract manufacturer of medical and drug delivery devices founded in 1985. He previously held leadership positions at Nypro (now Jabil Healthcare), where he led its consumer and electronics business for the Americas region and oversaw operations in India. He also was vice president and general […]
Manufacturing 2025: SMITH, ASHLEY B.
Smith, the third generation of his family to lead the precast concrete company, became CEO in 2018 and board chairman in 2022. His grandfather, David G. Smith, founded the company in 1960 as Smith-Cattleguard, a nod to the company’s concrete cattleguard innovation. The publicly traded company now has manufacturing facilities in North and South Carolina. […]
Manufacturing 2025: BEAUCHAMP, BRADFORD ‘BRAD’
In 1950, E. Rhodes Carpenter launched his namesake company as a distributor of Goodyear latex products. A few years later, Carpenter pivoted to pouring flexible polyurethane foam. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Carpenter now has a product portfolio that includes bonded, molded and technical foams, chemicals and chemical systems, expanded polystyrene systems, consumer products, [&helli[...]
Manufacturing 2025: HOFF, JEREMY R.
Hoff joined Hooker in 2017, serving as president of the upholstery, case goods and legacy brands divisions before being named its first nonfamily CEO in 2021. The 101-year-old company employs more than 1,000 people and has corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities in Virginia, North Carolina and California, with showrooms in High Point, North Carolina; […]
Manufacturing 2025: GREENE, JASON
Greene has led Delta Star, a manufacturer of power transformers and mobile substations, since 2016. In June, Greene welcomed state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s Delta Iron Works, an 80,000-square-foot facility that will serve as a hub for steel fabrication, allowing the company to boost […]
Manufacturing 2025: CULBRETH, M. SCOTT
Culbreth joined American Woodmark in 2014 as its senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was promoted to president and CEO and joined its board of directors in 2020. American Woodmark’s cabinet brands include its namesake, as well as Shenandoah Cabinetry, Timberlake Cabinetry and Waypoint Living Spaces. It has more than 7,800 employees and […]
