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Manufacturing 2023: CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’ LUCK IV
The third generation of Lucks to lead the crushed stone company and its real estate subsidiary, Charlie Luck is currently celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary. Over the years, Luck Cos. has established a footprint that extends throughout Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, with about 950 employees. In February, the company applied to build […]
Manufacturing 2023: SCOTT KEOGH
In 2022, Keogh left his position as president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America to serve as head of Scout Motors, the German automaker’s new electric truck and sport utility vehicle division. Scout is a revamp of the iconic Scout all-terrain vehicle brand produced by International Harvester in the 1960s and ’70s. In 2021, […]
Manufacturing 2023: BRYAN FAIRBANKS
In 2020, Fairbanks became president and CEO of publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer Trex, one of Fortune’s 100 fastest-growing companies that year. For fiscal year 2022, benefiting from a pandemic-era increased demand in home improvement, Trex brought in more than $1.1 billion, expanding distribution in Texas and launching a new decking line. In […]
Manufacturing 2023: ANDY GIRVIN
As plant manager for New Jersey chemical manufacturer AdvanSix’s largest factory, Girvin has navigated some challenges this year. In April, 340 union workers went on strike at the Hopewell plant, seeking wage increases. The strike ended in May, but that didn’t end troubles at the plant, which annually produces 400,000 tons of caprolactam, a compound […]
Manufacturing 2023: THOMAS E. ‘TEDDY’ GOTTWALD
Gottwald is a third-generation leader of NewMarket, parent company of Afton Chemical and Ethyl. A VMI alumnus, he joined NewMarket in 1984 and worked in its petroleum additives and former plastics businesses before succeeding his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board two decades later. NewMarket traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp., a company […]
Manufacturing 2023: MANMEET S. BHATIA
Bhatia joined Japanese-owned Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp. (TMEIC) in 2003 as general manager of operations for Toshiba and Mitsubishi’s U.S.-based joint venture with General Electric that ultimately became TMEIC Americas, a regional subsidiary that designs and develops advanced automation systems, large AC and DC motors and photovoltaic inverters. During his career at TME[...]
Manufacturing 2023: JEREMY HOFF
Hoff joined Hooker Furniture in 2017. He served consecutive terms as president of the upholstery, case goods and then legacy brands divisions before being named its first nonfamily CEO in 2021, the same year the company rebranded as Hooker Furnishings. Hoff serves as treasurer for the High Point Market Authority and is a board member […]
Manufacturing 2023: JOHN M. STEITZ
A global manufacturer of plastic films and aluminum extrusions, Tredegar is a 1989 spinoff of Richmond fuel additives company Ethyl. Steitz was named president and CEO in 2019 following the retirement of John D. Gottwald, who had served in the role for 30 years. Steitz had served on Tredegar’s board of directors since 2017 while […]
Manufacturing 2023: ASHLEY B. SMITH
Smith, the third generation of his family to lead the precast concrete company, became CEO in 2018 and board chairman in 2022. The Fauquier County business was started by his grandfather, David G. Smith, in 1960 as Smith-Cattleguard, named for its concrete cattleguard innovation. By 1995, Smith-Midland was a publicly traded company. Today, the company […]
Manufacturing 2023: KATHERINE WILLIAMS
On July 1, Williams succeeded CEO Gary Mignogna, who became Framatome’s board chairman upon his retirement after 45 years leading the nuclear reactor and fuel manufacturer. Williams has worked for the U.S. subsidiary of French nuclear reactor manufacturer Framatome (formerly Areva NP) for more than 20 years and manages all of the parent company’s financial […]
Manufacturing 2023: KAI FRIEDRICH
Friedrich has worked for Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr Group for almost 20 years, and after holding management roles in Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Switzerland, he joined Liebherr’s U.S. operations in 2021 as its managing director and director of the global company’s earthmoving and material handling technology. He also serves as a divisional director for […]
Manufacturing 2023: PRABHAT JAIN
Jain has been CEO of Virginia Transformer, the continent’s largest U.S.-owned power transformer manufacturer, since 1982, 14 years after he arrived from India, mechanical engineering degree in hand. Over the past 40 years, Jain grew the company from 35 employees to more than 2,700 across five plants. Last fall, it opened an additional manufacturing facility […]
