Ones to Watch

September - October 2002

Ones to Watch

A Face in the Crowd

parrish J ohn Wayne Parrish Jr.
President and Chief Executive officer
The Loxcreen Company Inc., West Columbia, S.C.

Tell me about your first job at Loxcreen?

My first job entailed drilling a straight hole followed by the countersinking and threading of a flange that had been stamped out of steel. We heated the steel until it was red hot, ran it through a punching die, and when it was cooled, we created the finished product. I remember the job well; I was 12 and earned $6.94 for my day’s labor.

Who were some of your role models?

Without a doubt the most prominent role model in my personal and business life would have been my father. It’s generally accepted today that our parents are the primary shapers of our lives provided we are fortunate enough to grow up in a home with loving and caring parents as I was. In the early years, my father spent a great deal of time building the business, so our quality time together usually took place most often when I was in trouble …

And last but not least would be my wife of 33 years, though we’ve been together for almost 37 years. Too often we fail to acknowledge the key role our partners play in our success. It takes “two to tango” you know and the bumps in the road of my life were smoothed more often than not by her willingness to be my partner and primary supporter of my business career.
What advice would you give a college student who wants to be a president of a company one day?

Count the cost—and rest assured it will be more than you figured—and then if you are still inclined, set your heart and mind on the goal and go for it. You may want to start your own company first to get a taste of what it will be like, and during that learning period and as you move forward, always try, when practical, to hire people ten times smarter than yourself. Then you can combine the experiences of those people with your own, and you’ll probably make more right decisions than wrong ones, which at the end of the day is what separates the winners from the losers.

Being president of a company is extremely demanding, how do you balance your time with business and family?

Two of my daughters are already on their own and our youngest daughter is a senior at Columbia College. This situation and our marriage of 33 years put less demands on me than in earlier years. I guess you can say I was blessed that my girls were grown when I took over as chief executive officer … Today, I would say the most challenging balancing act when I get home from traveling revolves around the infamous honey-do list, what civic organizations I participate in, what boards I serve, what fundraising campaigns I’m involved, and the list goes on from there. For chief executive officers much younger than I who have a family, it’s a much more challenging issue. You can never go back and recoup the time you’ve lost.

If you know someone who stands out from the crowd, send an e-mail to ttaffera@glass.com

APPOINTMENTS
Chelsea Names Lundeen Marketing and Communication Manager
Lundeen Chelsea Building Products Inc. of Oakmont, Pa., recently hired Les Lundeen Jr. as the new marketing and communication manager. Lundeen is responsible for overseeing all marketing and communication activities, including advertising and market research.

With more than 18 years of experience in the window industry, Lundeen has held management positions in research and product development, technical service and sales and marketing.

“We are delighted to have someone with Lundeen’s background and experience join our team,” said Chris Mathews, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Thermoplast Names Oates to Regional Sales Manager
Thermoplast Inc. of Laval, Quebec, announces that William Oates will now be acting as regional sales manager for the East Coast of the United States. Oates was active previously in the New England market as a manufacturer’s representative for various lines related to windows and glass. He has also been successful in introducing Thermoplast’s product lines in this market in the last few years, said the company.

Martin Davis Joins Proline Automation
Proline Automation of Concord, Ontario, has announced the hiring of Martin Davis as a regional sales manager. Davis joins the company having worked most recently with Urban Machinery as a regional sales manager for the Midwest and Canada. He has nine years of experience in the PVC window manufacturing industry.

PROMOTIONS
Style Solutions™ Names Goulette VP and GM
Style Solutions™ Inc. has promoted Dave Goulette into the newly-created position of vice president and general manager. He previously served as the vice president of operations for the company.

Goulette is now responsible for long-term strategic direction of the company and day-to-day manufacturing issues at Style Solution’s plants in Archbold, Ohio, and Yantai, China. His duties include direction of the management team at Style Solutions, sales and marketing functions, operations, customer service, production, shipping, information resources, purchasing, accounting and human resources.

Berlinex Promotes Celmer to Vice President of Sales
Celmer Berlinex Inc. of Beaver, Pa., recently promoted Michael Celmer to vice president of sales for North America. Celmer joined the Canadian-based vinyl extruder in May 2001 and he most recently served as vice president of sales for the U.S. territory. His expanded responsibilities include establishing and developing new accounts, supervising sales efforts, training new sales representatives and introducing and promoting new products and marketing strategies.

Celmer has more than 25 years of experience in the vinyl window and home improvement industries, including wholesale, retail and in-home sales.

Simonton Windows Names Monroe Vice President of Marketing
Simonton Windows of Parkersburg, W.V., recently named Chris Monroe as vice president of marketing. Monroe is responsible for directing the company’s integrated marketing operations and marketing research and analysis. He had served as director of marketing since joining Simonton in 2000.

Prior to joining Simonton, Monroe was director of merchandising and advertising for Ames True Temper. He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from West Virginia University.

RECOGNITION
Reisert Awarded Dealer of the Year
Tom Reisert, president of the Edward B. Mueller Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, received the 2001 Dealer of the Year Award from Lynn Arbuthnot, director of sales and marketing for Mikron Woodworking Machinery of Renfrew, Ontario, at the WIC 2002 conference in San Antonio.

ELECTIONS
WDMA Elects Board and Officers
At its 75th annual meeting in Maui, Hawaii, the Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) elected Kurt Heikkila as its 2002 chairperson. Heikkila is a senior vice president of technology and business development at Andersen Corp. in Bayport, Minn. He served last year on the board of directors as vice chairperson of the window division and prior to that as a regular board member. Outgoing chairperson Rick Liddell presented Heikkila with the symbolic chairperson’s gavel.

Chris Simpson, vice president of marketing and sales at Pella Corp. of Pella, Iowa, was elected to replace Heikkila as vice chairperson of the window division. Jerry Mannigel, president of Marshfield Door Systems of Marshfield, Wis., was re-elected as vice chairperson of the door division. Linda Semling, vice president and general manager of Semling-Menke Co., of Merrill, Wis., was re-elected as treasurer.

New directors elected to the board are Jerry Olenshansky, vice president of sales and marketing of Therma-Tru Doors of Maumee, Ohio; Dick Bader, vice president and general manager of Norco (a Jeld-Wen Co.) of Hawkins, Wis.; Tim Miller, president of VELUX-AMERICA Inc. of Fort Mill, S.C.; and John Kessler, vice president of sales at TruSeal Technologies Inc. of Beachwood, Ohio.