SPE THERMOFORMING DIVISION - Key Persons
Alethea Schaeffer is a seasoned professional in the manufacturing and engineering sectors, currently serving as the Vice President of Sales and Engineering at Usheco, Inc., a family-owned business specializing in custom plastic components. With a legacy spanning over six decades, Usheco, Inc. was founded in 1961 by Bernarr Schaeffer, and under Alethea's leadership, it continues to thrive as a premier provider in its field.
With 23 years of dedicated experience, Alethea brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role. Her journey in the plastics manufacturing industry has seen her hold various key positions, including injection molding manager, drafting specialist, engineering lead, sales executive, project manager, and operations strategist. This diverse background has equipped her with a deep understanding of the intricacies of the industry, as well as valuable insights into related sectors such as lighting and design.
Throughout her career, Alethea has been a driving force behind Usheco's commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Her multifaceted skill set enables her to provide strategic direction and leadership, ensuring that the company delivers top-quality products and services to its diverse clientele of OEMs.
Under Alethea's guidance, Usheco, Inc. continues to uphold its reputation for quality and reliability, while also embracing innovation and best practices to stay ahead in a competitive market. Her dedication to the company's legacy of providing exceptional custom plastic components underscores her commitment to driving growth and success for Usheco, Inc. and its valued customers.
Brian Golden is Sales Director Americas, GN Thermoforming Equipment, located in Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Since 1983, Brian has earned a reputation for his breadth of knowledge and his hands-on approach to solving technical problems. He understands customer needs through his long career serving as both an equipment operator on the factory floor, as a service engineer and sales executive supporting many different customers on behalf of machine manufacturers.
Brian has served as Director of Innovation and Customer Satisfaction at SencorpWhite, where he was responsible for the research and development of product-line enhancements and new-machine developments for the thermoforming business unit. Before that, Golden served as the Vice President of Sales for the Sencorp division of the company, during which he was directly responsible for overseeing the sales activity for the Thermoforming product line.
Job Titles:
- VP of Sales for Processing Technologies International
Brian Winton is the VP of Sales for Processing Technologies International (PTi). Brian has over 38 years of experience in domestic and international capital equipment sales, marketing and project management. He began his career in the thermoforming industry in 1985 and continued into extrusion and plastic recycling. Brian has worked primarily for equipment manufacturers in manager, director and vice president capacities, with past technical sales and marketing teams including John Brown Plastics Machinery, Modern Machinery, Lyle Industries, and The Brown Machine Group.
Brian has extensive process and industry knowledge, and started his career managing turnkey projects for sheet extrusion and thermoforming operations. This included designing and properly sizing ancillary features, downstream equipment and plant utilities, while coordinating comprehensive installation and training services. Brian works closely with his customers to clearly understand their current and future needs. He also collaborates with suppliers and other engineering sources to technically define and promote the latest cutting-edge solutions.
Brian is highly involved in the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division and has served as a board member since 2002. He continues to serve on the R&D Committee and has previously served as ANTEC Technical Program Chair and Conference Chair.
Dan has 42 years of experience in extrusion with extensive expertise in various materials and equipment. He has also led training sessions and conducted troubleshooting exercises on extrusion equipment. On the thermoforming side of the business, Dan has hands-on experience with single-sheet, twin-sheet, and pressure thermoformed products, as well as tooling and processes.
In May 2018, Dan started his own plastics consulting and business development company. In May 2018, he was appointed to the SPE Thermoforming Division Board of Directors. Since then, Dan has actively contributed to the Division by holding the positions of Student RC Car Race Chair, Education Committee Chair, and Co-Chair of the SPE Thermoforming Conference Parts Competition.
As OMG's Sales Manager, Midwest U.S., Dennis works with customers to understand their requirements and directly with OMG Engineering to manufacture high-quality machines. Dennis previously worked for Cascade Engineering in Research and Development.
Dennis grew up around manufacturing as his father owned an injection molding company, Northwest Molded Plastics. Dennis worked there from a young age and eventually started running the company at age 21. He received his associate's degree from Northwest State Community College in 2012, and attended Penn College for a hands-on workshop in thermoforming. He joined Cascade engineering in 2015. He has utilized thermoforming in many ways. Including thermoforming thin sheet paint film and using them as inserts into an injection mold, in-mold-coating for injection molding, distortion print forming, foil transferring, tooling, and processing injection and thermoforming. He has worked with major material companies in developing and testing new materials for injection and thermoforming. He has also worked with acoustical sound barrier materials and compression molding. Dennis was also hand-selected to learn robotics and computer numerical control systems at Fanuc and brought that knowledge back to the company.
Dennis currently services the entire family of companies within CE because of his education and experience in many areas of expertise, including information technology, internet securities, injection molding, thermoforming and agricultural sensors. He still utilizes all of these skills making him one of the most well-rounded and dependable employees of CE. He even helps instruct Kung Fu in his spare time, which speaks to his discipline, respect and commitment to his profession.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Probst Plastics Consulting, LLC
As Principal of Probst Plastics Consulting based in Milwaukee-WI, Ed Probst has 30 years of experience in the heavy gauge custom thermoforming industry. For 28 years he worked at Profile Plastics Corporation, Lake Bluff IL in manufacturing, engineering, design, and sales. During that time he had the privilege of working for and with three SPE Thermoformer's of the Year: John Grundy, Steve Murrill, and Stephen Sweig. He is a Senior Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers and is a member of the Thermoforming Division, European Thermoforming Division, and Product Design and Development Division. Over the years he has served SPE as Chairman of the 2001 SPE Thermoforming Conference, Technical Program Chairman of the 2005 SPE Thermoforming Conference, Technical Program Co-Chair of the 2012 SPE Thermoforming Conference, Presenter at the SPE Thermoforming Conference in Cincinatti-OH and European Thermoforming Division Conference in Ghent-Belgium, SPE Product Design and Development Division (PD3) Board Member and Treasurer, Co-Chairman of the 2003 SPE PD3/Rotomolding Topcon in Cleveland-OH, and Co-Chairman of the 2014 SPE PD3 Design TOPCON.
Eric Short is the Vice President of Customer & Technical Services at SIMONA PMC, joining the company in July 2011.
Evan Gilham is a graduate of Lehigh University majoring in finance. During his 15+ years with Productive Plastics, Evan has developed strong skills in process improvement, contract negotiations, and sales training as demonstrated with customers in electronics, bus and rail transportation, aerospace, kiosks, and other OEM markets. He has led projects including process conversion for metal and fiberglass, design support with customers new to thermoforming, and overall selection of materials, tooling, and costs/benefit analysis.
Evan began attending and participating in board meetings in 2016. Before becoming a board member in 2018, he delivered a conference presentation on the principles of lean manufacturing and how it helped his company, Productive Plastics.
During his prior tenure as a board member, Evan served on the Division's Executive Committee as communications chair and also chaired the promotions committee. After a brief absence from the board, Evan returned as a guest in June 2020. He actively participated in education committee meetings and co-presented the Division's successful webinar, Replacing Steel with Thermoformed Plastics, in January 2021.
Additionally, Evan regularly attended monthly planning meetings for the 2021 SPE Thermoforming Conference Executive Forum. There, he moderated a round table discussion on thermoforming conversion opportunities during the Forum.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations at LINDAR Corporation
Gordy Murphy has over 32 years of experience in the Thermoforming industry spanning both the Heavy Gauge and Thin Gauge Industries. Gordy's past positions have included direct involvement with sheet extrusion, tool design and implementation, high-speed labeling, printing, as well as recycling of plastic materials.
In his current role as Director of Operations at LINDAR Corporation, Gordy is directly responsible for overseeing the engineering, capital planning implementation, information systems, and technical aspects to support the ongoing growth of the company.
Gordy's industry knowledge combined with his can-do attitude has contributed to the success of LINDAR Corporation today.
During the recent Grand Rapids SPE Thermoforming Conference, Gordy served as a round table moderator and shared his expertise on ERP systems during the Executive Forum. He has attended SPE Thermoforming Division Board Meetings and actively participated in committee meetings for the past two years.
Job Titles:
- President of MSA Components, Inc
Ian Munnoch is president of MSA Components, Inc., a manufacturer's representative group selling to thermoformers for 37 years in both the thin and heavy gauge industries. His experience includes outsides sales to sales management. Previous to starting MSA Components, he worked for Fortune 500 companies to small O.E.M. manufacturers. Ian has been working with thermoformers and tooling shops to develop the best plug material and designs available by today's standards. He became a member of the SPE Thermoforming Division Board in 2016 and serves on the R & D Committee. Ian is an avid outdoorsman and lives in New Glarus, Wisconsin.
James Alongi is the CFO of MAAC Machinery Co., including responsibility for its manufacturing operations. He has been an active member with the SPE Thermoforming Division since 1997. He has served on the Finance, Machinery, and Student Activities committees, and is currently the Assistant Treasurer of the Division, as well as an active member of the Machinery committee. James has been instrumental in obtaining affordable Thermoforming machinery for universities utilizing the equipment grant program and has consistently participated in fund raising events to provide donations for the SPE Thermoforming Division Scholarship fund. He has also regularly assisted with the parts competition at the annual Thermoforming conference.
Job Titles:
- Director of Sales and Marketing at Hagans Plastics Company
Jim Arnet is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Hagans Plastics Company. Hagans Plastics is a AS9100-based custom thermoformer and injection molder dedicated to first class service.
Jim has been involved in the plastics industry for the past 27 years, dealing with both thermoforming and extrusion in both thin and thick gauge materials. Jim has extensive experience in both plastics and sales. Prior to joining Hagans in 2013, Jim was with KYDEX LLC. as the Central Region Sales Manager for five and a half years. Jim was the Western Regional Sales Manager with Primex Plastics for three years and before that he was with Reynolds Packaging (previously known as Ivex Packaging Corporation) for 15 years in many different roles, including sales management, export, and national accounts.
Jim is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a BS degree in Industrial Distribution. A retired U.S. Army Officer, Jim, his wife Sherry of 32 years, and his family reside in Flower Mound, Texas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President / CEO, Kal Plastics
- President and Owner of Kal Plastics
Juliet Goff is the President and owner of Kal Plastics; a custom heavy gauge cut sheet thermoformer, located in Vernon, California. She has been with Kal Plastics since 1990, learning the business from the ground up after graduating from UCLA. After many years of increasing responsibilities, Juliet honed her skills in finance, risk management, strategic planning, HR, marketing and sales. She became President in 2002 and the sole shareholder in 2004.
Her active involvement with the SPE Thermoforming Division started in 2008 at the Minneapolis Thermoforming Conference. There Kal Plastics was honored as a Gold Medal winner in the annual parts competition. Since then she has regularly attended the Thermoforming Division Board meetings and in 2010 she became a Director. Her Board assignment is recognition and the annual Thermoformer of the Year award.
She brings with her the collective experiences of having served on several Boards and non-profits throughout her career, in various leadership roles, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Vernon Chamber of Commerce, The City of Vernon Community Fund, The City of Vernon Housing Commission and the Parent Association at her daughter's high school in Pasadena, CA. Currently she serves on the Executive Board for the Vernon Chamber of Commerce, is the Chair of the Vernon Housing Commission and is the Parent Association President at her daughter's high school.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer
Matthew is sales liaison for large extrusion organizations and manages the marketing efforts for LyondellBasell's TPO line of products (thick sheet-cut thermoforming). He also interfaces with the PP and PE groups regarding company opportunities in thin sheet roll fed thermoforming applications. O'Hagan is the Business Development Manager for Heavy Truck, Extrusion/Thermoforming and Recreational Segments.
Matthew's career in plastics began in 1987 with Dexter plastics (now LyondellBasell) where he held various positions in Sales/Sales Management and Marketing of TPO materials to multiple segments.
Matthew enjoys golf, hunting and fishing. He and his wife, Deborah, have three children.
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Director of Applications Development & Technical Services at Primex Plastics Corporation
Paul Uphaus is the Director of Applications Development & Technical Services at Primex Plastics Corporation, joining the company in August of 1989. Paul has 35 years of technical experience in the plastics industry and manages a team of six product specialists and oversees all functions of Primex's JJF Technical & Innovation Center located at their corporate headquarters in Richmond, IN.
Paul currently holds the position of Incoming Chair of the SPE Thermoforming Division Board of Directors and resides with his wife and two children in the Atlanta, GA area.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Councilor
Phillip Karig has over 25 years of experience in the plastics industry, most recently as Managing Director of Mathelin Bay Associates LLC a plastics industry consulting firm with offices in the U.S. and Germany. Prior to that he was Vice President of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and then Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Spartech Corporation, a then $1 billion company that performed cut sheet and rollstock extrusion, injection molding, profile extrusion, calendaring and blown film extrusion, as well as compound and color concentrates production.
Previously he led the procurement and logistics functions at Uniroyal Technology Corporation, which produced Royalite brand extruded sheet products, Naugahyde brand vinyl coated fabrics and Ensolite brand foam products.
Prior to Uniroyal, he was at Leaseway Transportation Corp. (Currently Penske), a $1 billion public company, as a Strategic Planner before assuming Profit and Loss responsibility for a network of bulk plastics warehouses and rail to truck plastics transfer facilities.
During his career he has purchased billions of pounds of resins in multi-million pounds annual quantities including ABS, ASA, SAN, Acrylic, Polycarbonate, APET, PETG, PVC (suspension and dispersion), Polystyrene, Polyethylene, Polypropylene and more.
Phillip earned his Master's degree at Harvard University and his Bachelor's at the State University of New York. He is a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Fellow, has taught Game Theory and Decision-Making, and has also worked with the Department of Commerce and the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee. He speaks German.
He serves as a Director on the Society of Plastics Engineers Thermoforming Division Board, is a member of the Research & Development Committee and oversees the Division's website.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Manager for Primex Plastics Corportion
Renee Vinsick is the Business Development Manager for Primex Plastics Corportion, Primex delivers state-of-the-art plastic solutions for any application. Only Primex owns the entire process from compounding materials, color, custom extrusion as well as product fabrication, giving you more flexibility and options.
Robert Browning, of Atlanta, Georgia, has over 35 years experience in the design and engineering of single sheet, twin-sheet, and pressure thermoformed products, tooling and processes. During this time he has had the opportunity to develop, refine and patent new processes in thermoforming, and in the design of thermoforming tooling. For fifteen years, he was with one of the largest twin-sheet thermoforming companies in the U.S., as Director of Research, Development and Engineering.
Currently, a Partner with the McConnell Co. Inc., one of the premier thermoforming consulting firms, Robert has also had his own design consulting firm, Isosceles, Inc., since 1984. With degrees in Business Management and Industrial Design, he has successfully worked with companies such as John Deere, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, NASA, Disney, NCR, American Standard, Yamaha, and BMW, to define problems, develop alternatives, and implement solutions. At the present, he is an active member of the Industrial Design Society of America and is a Senior Member of the Society of Plastic Engineers.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Custom Sales at Simona PMC
Roger Jean is Vice President of Custom Sales at Simona PMC, a division of Simona AG. Roger has been actively involved with the thermoforming industry since 1987.
Prior to joining the PMC team in 2009, he held positions including Marketing Manager and National Sales Manager at Wilbert Plastic Services, and Market Development Manager at Solvay Engineered Polymers. Roger and his family reside in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Vice President of Engineering & Product Development at Formed Plastics
Stephen Zamprelli is the Vice President of Engineering & Product Development at Formed Plastics. He joined the New York City area-based organization in 2011. Formed Plastics, nearing its 75th anniversary, specializes in thermoforming, rotational molding, fabrication and injection blow molding.
Steve has 20+ years of expertise in designing and manufacturing products utilizing various processing methods. His broad technical background, artistic influence, and readiness to accept new challenges has afforded him many diverse opportunities. Steve's prior experience enables him to approach issues from the customer's point of view, assisting SPE to bridge the gap between the OEM and supplier.
Job Titles:
- Communications Chair
- Member of the Executive Committee
Travis learned the many facets of the plastics industry because he was involved since a very young age. Travis's knowledge and involvement in the plastic industry has been greatly influenced by his father, Terry Kieffer, who started the family-owned thermoforming factory located in Preston, Iowa, which was started on the family farm. Plastics Unlimited, Inc. has grown considerably since then and Travis freely acknowledges his father's influence and impact it has had on his career choice. Travis now plays a key role in the company's steady growth beside his father and other family members. Travis has been learning the business from the ground up.
Travis attended Iowa State College and is grateful for the scholarship he received from the SPE Thermoforming Division in 2008 and strongly believes it is a program that should continue to help other students reach their potential and continue the path forward in the plastics industry. After graduating from Iowa State University in 2012 with an Industrial Engineering Degree, Travis started working in the R & D Department and helped improve the production system. During this time, Plastics Unlimited was invited to speak at the 2012 SPE Thermoforming Conference on their patented Toolless Engineered Composite process. Travis represented the company as one of the speakers for this presentation. Since then, he has been promoted to the COO position and manages the day-to-day operations of the company as well as being involved with the R & D department. He continues to use his training from Iowa State to help improve production speed and capabilities within Plastics Unlimited.