FILTER MEDIA SERVICES - Key Persons
Clint Scoble, Principal Filtration Consultant of Filter Media Services, is a filter expert with an extensive history in filtration manufacturing and filter marketing. He started at age 16 in National Filter Media Corporation's (NFM) Hamden, CT plant, learning the company's weaving, finishing and converting techniques for dust bags and liquid filter cloths. Spinning weaving, heat treating, knife cutting, heat cutting, latexing, sewing and sub-operations for converted filter media filled six summers.
After a four-year stint with Ford Motor Company, Scoble joined NFM's New Jersey Dust and Fume Division operation, where he began to accumulate field knowledge of both process and pollution control filtration. NFM had separated the dust bag operation from the liquid filtration side of its business in anticipation of growth due to the first meaningful Clean Air Act legislation in 1970 and 1977. Scoble became Division Manager in 1971 and held that position until leaving the company in 1984. During that period a new plant was built as NFM's dust collector bag business steadily grew, in spite of the oil embargo and less than desirable economic conditions. Before he left, Scoble acted as liaison for NFM in a newly formed partnership with BWF Group in Germany, a respected and technically focused manufacturer of needle felts for filtration.
In 1984, Scoble was recruited to run Snow Filtration's dust bag, liquid filter cloth and copier filter division. The operation had faltered during an ownership change and was suffering from lack of steady management, as well as a lack of focus and direction. Snow's other division was the major player in non-wovens (spunbonds, point bond, wet and dry laid, SMS and similar filter media) and the faltering dust bag and liquid filtration operation was able to use some of these proprietary non-wovens in non-traditional applications. With a re-focused sales effort, a new telemarketing operation, new staff, new filter marketing and cost controls the division swung to a profit.
However, ownership changes again impacted Snow, and in 1989 Scoble began negotiations with BWF Group of Offingen, Germany. BWF was unhappy with its existing U.S. partner and wanted to found a company, partner-owned, charged with promoting the European concept of high quality, custom needle felts for filtration. BWF, Scoble and U.S. partner John Kintsch opened the doors of BWF America in September of 1989 with good support, good quality raw materials and no customer base.