NewsMakers

obituaries
Vienna Glass President Passes Away
Vienna Glass president Rick Glaze passed away on Monday, August 10. He was 51. Glaze, a resident of Spotsylvania, Va., was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam War during the “Tet Offensive” as a combat radio operator. Afterwards, he returned to his family glass business, which is based in Vienna, Va.

Glaze is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen; sons, Joseph, Scott and Jason; daughter, Tara Odom; and nine grandchildren, Tori, Austin, Bayley, Jackson, Johanna, Jeremy, Rachel, Eli, and Wyatt.

Glaze also was a member of the Mid-Atlantic Glass Association.

new hires

Glaston Appoints New President and CEO
Mika Seitovirta, who had been president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Finland’s Glaston Corp. for the past two years, resigned on August 5. The company’s board of directors appointed Arto Metsänen as its new president and CEO. Metsänen assumed his new position on September 1.

Darin Johnson is the latest addition to Glaston North America Inc.’s Albat + Wirsam software integration team. As project and service manager, Johnson will be responsible for all new customer projects, leading the implementation team and interfacing with the product management group. He has 17 years of engineering and management experience.

Wausau Names Market Managers
Wausau, Wis.-based Wausau Window and Wall Systems has hired three market managers.

Lisa May, who works with healthcare facilities, will specialize in healthcare projects;

Steve Gille, who has been with the company for 25 years, will focus on education projects; and

Tom Mifflin, who was a design engineer for a government subcontractor working on projects for the Naval Facilities Command, will be the governmental/military market manager.

promotions
FeneTech Announces New Director of Global Sales
Aurora, Ohio-based FeneTech has appointed Horst Mertes as director of global sales. Mertes, who has more than 25 years of software and engineering service sales experience, has been involved in the development and operation of sales and service offices in both North America and Europe.

Azon Promotes Two
Azon USA Inc. has promoted two staff members. Patrick Muessig was promoted to vice president of global technical operations. A 12-year veteran with the company, Muessig served previously as director of global technical services and will continue to oversee the AZO/Tec® design and thermal simulation services for the company.

Nancy Peterson was promoted to director of market communications and will also join the Azon board of directors. Peterson has been with Azon for more than 13 years as the market communications manager.

associations
AEC Elects New Vice Chairperson
Duncan Crowdis, president of Bonnell Aluminum in Newnan, Ga., has been elected vice chairperson of the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC). Crowdis has been on the AEC board of directors and held the position of extruder director since 2006. Traditionally, the vice chairperson moves forward to the position of AEC chairperson after serving a two-year term.

kudos
USGlass Associate Publisher Recognized as Media Rep of the Year
Lisa Naugle, associate publisher of USGlass magazine, was recognized with the media representative of the year 2009 BizMark Award by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Business Marketing Association at an event in May.

Rob Struble, manager, branding and communications, PPG Performance Glazings, PPG Industries, nominated Naugle for the award.

“Lisa keeps in touch enough that we have a very good understanding of her offering and clues us in, without fanfare, to new opportunities,” Struble says. “Because of this, she’s kind of like the old E.F. Hutton slogan: when she talks, we listen.”

Naugle was not the only glass-industry award recipient. Roger Linville, who retired from PPG in 2009 as a marketing communications consultant, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Several others from the glass and glazing industry were also award finalists. Glenn Miner, segment manager, commercial market, for PPG Performance Glazings, and Robin Randall, vice president of corporate marketing of Traco, were finalists for the business-to-business marketer of the year award. Likewise, Struble was a finalist for the business-to-business advertiser of the year award.

The winners received awards created by Chicago-based Slee Corp. to resemble a sailboat; the awards were made of PPG’s Azuria and Atlantica glass.

USG
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