12/6/21 - New hires, promotions and obituaries

Southwire announced personnel changes to align its strategic plan. Effective Jan. 1, 2022, Norman Adkins will be president of wire and cable, and company COO. He will lead Southwire’s wire and cable commercial teams and oversee all of Southwire’s wire and cable operations and supply chain management, including metals. Since joining the company in 1998, he has led teams across the organization in both the commercial and manufacturing space including international, energy, OEM, electrical distribution and retail, among others. Brandon Moss will be president of tools, components and assembled solutions. In this role, he will continue to lead commercial and operations teams within TCAS and will focus on how Southwire is developing solutions to support accelerated growth of this business. He joined Southwire in 2007, and was integral in the launch of the company’s tools business and its subsequent growth into components, assembled solutions and other adjacencies. Within Adkins’ team, Kathleen Edge will continue to lead Southwire’s wire and cable operations teams. Charlie Murrah will expand his role within the team to now serve as executive vice president, chief supply chain officer. He will lead supply chain efforts for the entire company, including metals. Based in Carrollton, Georgia, USA, Southwire Company LLC is one of North America’s largest wire and cable producers.

T.J. O’Connell was named director of contractor solutions for Cerrowire. He has nearly 36 years of experience in electrical manufacturing, distribution and as a manufacturer’s representative with a primary focus on the commercial, industrial and utility markets. He most recently was vice president of sales and marketing for the U.S. energy division of Nexans, where he started in 2018. Prior to that he had worked for Graybar, the Yanow Companies and WESCO Distribution. He was cited for his enthusiasm, winning 13 industry awards over the past 26 years. Part of the Marmon Group and based in Hartselle, Alabama, Cerrowire manufactures copper wire in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and Utah.

Metalube Ltd. reported two hires for its technology center. Samuel Adamson was named development chemist, responsible for production queries, sourcing raw materials and the creation of technical datasheets and product specifications. He previously worked for five years for Lankem, where he specialized in the development of surfactant-based products. He holds a degree in chemistry from Bangor University. Lily Smith is an R&D technician. She worked for more than two years as senior laboratory technician at Hall Analytical. She holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Manchester Metropolitan University. Based in Irlam, Manchester, U.K., Metalube is a global lubricant specialist.

J. Andrew Gehrisch was named president of Marlin Thermocouple Wire, Inc. He joined the company in 2015 as general manager and has extensive experience with ERP system implementations, MRP and inventory. He previously worked for about four years each as president of Nano Lube Corporation and as operations manager for Pelican Wire. He also was owner of Miniature Cable Systems from 2005 to 2007. Based in Westlake, Ohio, Marlin Thermocouple Wire, Inc. provides thermocouple wire, cable and thermocouple connector products.

Davis-Standard has promoted Gianzo Mastrangelo to aftermarket regional manager for the Northeast U.S. and Canada. He has 33 years of experience, having held multiple leadership roles at Brampton Engineering, which was acquired by Davis-Standard in 2018, as well as at General Motors of Canada, CFM and Fenwick Automotive. He holds an MBA degree from Niagara University, a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Ottawa, and a B.S. degree in biology from Western University. Based in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Davis-Standard’s product lines include extrusion technology for wire and cable.

Adam Sleboda has been named a senior development engineer at SACO AEI Polymers. He most recently worked for the Prysmian Group for four years as a material lab chemist and an R&D engineer. Prior to that, he was an R&D materials engineer for five years at Champlain Cable Corporation. He holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from King’s College. Based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, SACO AEI Polymers supplies thermoplastic and thermoset compounds, additives and masterbatches.

Andrew Depue is the new sales manager, wire and cable, for Nylene. He started as a regional sales manager for Joe Tools before moving on to Southwire, where he held process engineer/process support management positions prior to his promotion to operations manager. He holds a degree in economics from The University of Georgia. Based in Arnprior Ontario, Canada, Nylene supplies polyamide (nylon) polymers, co-polymers, and polymer compounds.

Automatic Spring Products Corp. (ASPC) has added the duties of company president to its CFO, Scott Zylstra. The change was made to allow long-time president and CEO Steve Moreland to focus exclusively on the strategic future of the company. Zylstra brought more than two decades of leadership in finance and manufacturing to ASPC when he joined in 2019 as CFO. Based in Grand Haven, Michigan, American Spring Products manufactures compression, extension and torsion springs as well as other products

Obituaries
The International Wire Manufacturers Association (IWMA) announced that Paul Graham Warbrick, one of its founding members, died Oct. 21, 2021, from a long-standing illness, at age 81.
Warbrick, who lived in Stockton Heath, was among the first group of British wire and cable company bosses who got together to form the IWMA just over 50 years ago. He had wanted to be a farmer, but when his father died in 1957, at age 41, he became head of Warbrick Engineering Specialties at age 17. Per his LinkedIn profile, at the time of his father’s death, Paul was a student apprentice at BICC Cables, having formerly been a student at Ellesmere College. He then left BICC to join the family business, attending two technical colleges in 1957 to 1959. He learned the field and became a shrewd businessman, bringing in cable industry electronic equipment maker HW Electronics in 1965, then adding Larmuth Engineering, Knutsford, Cheshire, and Dean Bros. reels in Nottingham. In 1988, Larmuth and Dean Brothers were sold to the Pentre Group, and he was a shareholder, and group sales and marketing director through the late 1990s.
Warbrick traveled extensively to find new business, as well as support IWMA, especially in its early years. His love of sports led him to create the IWMA golf tournament and the Warbrick golf trophy. In 2019, his son, Simon, took over the running of the central family wire and cable agency business, which continues as Warbrick International. Other survivors include a daughter, Caroline, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Douglas J. Milheim, the founder of Accurate Wire in Branford, Connecticut, died after a brief illness on Tuesday Oct. 26, 2021 at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
A resident of Guilford, Connecticut, he was a U. S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. He worked for Bethlehem Steel company in Pennsylvania before becoming the chief engineer at Durable Wire. In 1988, he and Matthew B. Smith opened Accurate Wire, a manufacturer of square and round wire. He ran the business until he retired, and sold the company in 2016. He was predeceased by his wife, Margaret Royka Milheim. He is survived by his daughter, Leslie Consolo; two grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Gilberto “Gilly” C. Jasso, who worked in sales for AW Machinery, a manufacturer and integrator of machinery and control systems, died from a heart attack at age 56. The Texas resident was born in Mexico to Gregorio M. and Beatriz (Chapa) Jasso.
Jasso is survived by his wife of 34 years: Maria C. Jasso; daughters: Anjelica Nicole Martinez, Jennifer Alexandra Jasso and Erika Jeanette Jasso; parents Gregorio and Beatriz Jasso; a brother, Gregorio Jasso; a sister, Aracely Jasso Moreno; and one grandchild, seven nephews and one niece.