Brush Industries and Q-Card Announce Organizational Changes; Nickolauson Assumes CEO Role
Brush Industries and Q-Card announced a reorganization of the two companies in light of the passing of President and Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bedell. Ed was CEO of both Brush Industries and Q-Card, and was also vice chairman of Apollo (Zhuhai) Electronics in China.
Karen Nickolauson, former Chief Operating Officer, will now assume the role of her former husband as CEO. For more than 40 years, Karen worked beside Ed in the field of magnetics. Her extensive background includes experience in sales and marketing, performance and management training, as well as data processing and engineering. She recently assumed additional responsibilities as Controller/CFO in 2003, developing policies and procedures for accounting and financial reporting, and leading cross-functional project teams to achieve process improvement and cost reduction goals. Her accomplishments also include the implementation and management of a computer network system and an integrated business management software system, and the implementation of ISO9001 Quality Management System in 1998, and then again in 2003 to upgrade to ISO9001:2000. She has provided leadership and training to all management and staff for the development of processes, documents and records required to achieve compliance with the standard.
“Ed’s energy and passion seemed limitless and he did many things that helped to shape the industry. We are all working together now to carry on company operations the way he would have wanted,” said Nickolauson.
Ed’s son, Jeff Bedell, the company’s former Sales Manager, will now become Vice President Sales and Marketing. Additionally, two long-term associates will be promoted: Terry Schindler has been promoted to Vice President Operations for Q-Card and Nancy Ruane has been promoted to Operations Manager for Brush Industries.
CPI Card Group Announces Organizational Changes
CPI’s leadership team wanted to emphasize color technology as a strategic initiative and core competency of the company. This strategic initiative requires an organizational change in order to expediently manage and continue to develop our color technology, along with other technical advances.
Ken Keith was promoted to Director, Color Technology. Ken has been instrumental in leading the Fort Wayne manufacturing operation this past year through tremendous growth and technical process. Ken will now focus on his color management expertise and strategically manage color for all of CPI. He will continue to be based in Fort Wayne.
Ken has been active in the graphic arts industry since 1976, and has been active in the digital side from the late 1980s, mainly in pressroom quality and process controls with digital plate setters. He has been involved in color management since the early 1990s. Ken has written software for press analysis and proof to press color match.
Gene Fogle will join CPI Card Group – Indiana, Inc., as Manufacturing Director. He has more than 20 years of plant management experience in the print manufacturing industry. His background includes operational and environmental safety, quality assurance and compliance to ISO 9001:2000, creation of standards and processes, corrective and preventative action programs, project management, plant layouts, cost containment, and accountability.
CPI also announces the newest member of its sales team, Alvaro Moreno has been promoted to Blank Card Sales Manager, based in CPI’s Nevada facility. Alvaro is a CPI veteran and formerly managed CPI - Nevada’s Customer Service Department. He has over 20 years of management experience in a manufacturing environment, as well as sales service experience prior to joining CPI in 2005.
Alvaro will be assisting customers with blank card manufacturing orders and ongoing service. With his customer service background at CPI, he is familiar with the card ordering process, customers’ needs, and how to exceed customer expectations. Al also speaks three languages; English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Finally, CPI announced Gerry Blight has joined CPI as Director of Customer Relations and Services. Gerry will be managing all customer service functions and the card personalization services areas across the entire company. As part of the 2008 acquisition of Didier Printing, CPI recently examined all of its functions, including customer relations. In this new position, Gerry will be integral to ensuring that CPI continues to meet and exceed customer expectations across all of CPI’s locations.
Gerry is a card industry veteran, having participated in various facets of it over the past 15 years. Gerry has spoken at a number of Card Industry events around the country in helping to promote the industry and its professional development. He was most recently President of Optimum Card Solutions, LLC, a card personalization, packaging and fulfillment business based in Addison, Illinois
Klöckner Pentaplast Group has Appointed Hans-Joachin Kogelnik as President and COO of Europe
The Klöckner Pentaplast Group (KP) has appointed Dr. Hans-Joachim Kogelnik as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the company’s European operations effective September 1, 2008. Kogelnik will assume the overall responsibility for all KP activities, operations, and sales offices in the region, including numerous plants in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal and sales offices in The Netherlands, France, Italy, Sweden, and Spain.
Prior to joining Klöckner Pentaplast, Kogelnik served as Advisory Board member for Ineos ABS, a joint venture between Lanxess and Ineos. Kogelnik has over 20 years experience with Bayer AG and Lanxess including general management of global business units, operations, innovation, marketing/product management, and supply chain management in all regions of the world. He began his career at Bayer as a development chemist.
Klöckner Pentaplast of America, Inc., has also appointed Tim Weatherill as Technical Manager for the company’s card and printing films effective July 7, 2008. Weatherill serves as the internal and external technical liaison for KP and its customers in the Americas. He is available to assist customers with troubleshooting, on-site training, and any other technical issues.
Prior to joining Klöckner Pentaplast, Weatherill served as senior product development chemist for Day International (Arden, NC). He also served as research associate for Dupont Medical Products and Sterling Diagnostic Imaging (Brevard, NC) and as a senior technical marketing specialist for Dupont Specialty Chemicals (Wilmington, DE).
Charles van de Putte, CPI Card Group, has been Named a Certified Quality Auditor
CPI Card Group announces that Charles van de Putte, CPI – Nevada Process Engineer, has been named an ASQ – Certified Quality Auditor (ASQ CQA). As such, Mr. van de Putte has demonstrated proficiency in and a comprehension of quality auditing tools and techniques. To sit for the examination, an individual must have eight years of on-the-job experience, and three of those years must be in a decision-making position. CQAs apply a variety of auditing techniques in examining and evaluating products, processes, and quality systems. CQAs also plan, develop, and execute audits; verify, document, and communicate audit results; and evaluate the effectiveness of corrective actions.
“ASQ provides certification as a way to provide formal recognition to professionals who have demonstrated an understanding of, and a commitment to, quality techniques and practices in their job and career,” explains Mike Nichols, president, American Society for Quality.
CPI – Nevada manufactures all general-purpose plastic cards that do not require Visa/ MasterCard security. It is the only ISO 9001:2000 registered plant serving the general-purpose plastic card market, and Mr. van de Putte is CPI – Nevada’s ISO management representative and lead auditor. In addition, Charles has held the ASQ–Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, since 2004.