STICTION ELIMINATOR - Key Persons
Brett leads all day-to-day activities within the warehouse. He came to us as an accomplished executive with a 16-year track record in manufacturing and sales leadership within the automotive and mining industries. Brett forges solid relationships with the employees to achieve high quality and efficiencies in production and safety. Brett served as President of Semco Inc. prior to coming to Lubrication Specialties.
Job Titles:
- Director of National Account Sales
Brian Merz served as senior key account manager for Idemitsu Lubricants America in Cleveland before joining LSI. With two decades of experience in strategic planning, new business development and sales management, he has worked for some of the largest companies in the lubrication industry, including Shell Oil Products and Penzoil-Quaker State Co., both as Senior National Account Manager. Prior to his position with Idemitsu, he served as Senior National Accounts Manager for ITW Global Brands in Cleveland, OH. There, he managed several of the company's largest customers, including AutoZone and Target, for the automotive and mass retailer channel, and managed five independent sales rep agencies covering territory in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest.
Chris founded Lubrication Specialties, Inc. (LSI) in 1997. He is one of the few people worldwide to hold the designations of both Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS) and Certified Oil Monitoring Analyst (OMA). This powerful combination of skills brings a unique perspective to LSI's product development process, which truly is powered by science.
Under Chris's leadership, the LSI family of products has grown and Hot Shot's Secret continues to expand with thousands of dealer and retail locations, including AutoZone, Tractor Supply Company, Rural King, Pilot/Flying J and TA Petro.
James has an extraordinary record of developing startups into global brands, conceptualizing strategic direction and developing the internal processes to ensure integration at all levels of operations, nationally and internationally. As vice president of sales and marketing for Sottera, Inc. he was responsible for introducing NJOY electronic cigarettes and vaping products; one of the first on the market in the U.S. At Sottera he secured strategic partnerships in retail channels with multiple Fortune 500 companies growing sales to $4 million and was responsible for rolling out a global sales strategy. As vice president of Illumination International, DBA The Amazing Flameless Candle, Palasota successfully executed and led strategies to make this product a household name. Most recently, he served as COO for AFC Industries and Herbal Brands and as senior vice president of operations for UtekTik, Inc. in Scottsdale, AZ.
Job Titles:
- V.P. of Research & Development
Kevin's background with product testing and analysis, process design and engineering documentation makes him a perfect fit to lead LSI's product team. In addition to developing new products, Kevin works to improve the Hot Shot's Secret and Frantz Filter product lines. Kevin founded Fluid Recovery, LTD., which was acquired by LSI in 2014. Prior to LSI, Kevin served as production engineer at FT Precision, Inc. and Engineering Manager at Envirowave Energy. Kevin holds a B.S degree in Chemical Engineering from Geneva College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Branding & Promotions
Kyle Fischer has close to 20 years of experience in marketing, sales and management positions. A self-professed "gear head" with a passion for anything car-related, he spends his free time drag racing and attending car club events. Fischer earned a B.S. degree in Marketing and Business Administration from Franklin University in Columbus, OH. Upon graduating, he served as the Field Marketing Manager and then the Regional Marketing Manager for Owens Corning in Ohio and in Chicago. Fischer managed a staff of over 40 field promoters, supervisors and managers, exceeding goals for revenue and new prospect development. Prior to joining LSI, Fischer served as the Regional Marketing Manager for Trident Marketing, where he oversaw lead generation, trade shows and business development partnership programs while effectively growing his territory to the top of the market in sales and revenue.