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Appointments
Vitro Architectural Glass
Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) has appointed Martin Bracamonte to the newly created post of vice president of marketing and innovation. Bracamonte will oversee marketing efforts throughout the U.S. and Canada. He joined Vitro Glass in January as vice president of operations. During his 29-year career in the industry, he has held senior management and executive posts, most recently as president and chief operating officer of IGE Glass Technologies.
In other Vitro personnel news, Heather Brion has been appointed Western region national architectural manager team leader, replacing Dan Adams, who recently retired. She joined Vitro in 2019, and has more than 20 years of experience. Michael Shettler was appointed commercial account manager for the Mid-South region. He was most recently an outside sales representative for Midwest Glass Fabricators. Ashley Clark has been appointed architectural manager for Northern California, Nevada and Utah. She has more than 15 years of experience in the architecture industry. Andre Kenstowicz, who has been with Vitro since 2012, is the new commercial account manager for the Pacific-Mountain region. He was named national architectural manager in 2016, and previously served as an international sales support representative and export compliance coordinator for the flat glass business. Mike Laraia was appointed to senior account manager for the residential/specialty glass business segment. He has more than 25 years of experience in multiple product segments.
Promotions
SAF
Southern Aluminum Finishing (SAF) has named Matthew Webb its new general manager at its original location in downtown Atlanta. Webb has more than 20 years of experience. He will oversee sheet and extrusion distribution operations at the Atlanta branch along with SAF’s eastern anodizing line. Before joining SAF, Webb most recently served as fabrication manager for a global belting manufacturer for the automotive, textile,
packaging, food and printing industries. Before that, Webb held roles as plant manager for a trailer axle and brake manufacturer and a metal exhaust manufacturer.
Obituaries
John Paleczny, Petersen Aluminum Corp.
Retired former president of Petersen Aluminum Corp., John Paleczny, died on October 18 at the age of 72. Paleczny worked for Petersen for 49 years from 1970 to 2019, while overseeing revenue growth from $3 million to more than $170 million when he retired. Paleczny was instrumental in the evolution of Petersen and the PAC-CLAD brand of architectural metal cladding products, according to the company. He joined Petersen on the anodizing crew and rose to the position of president, working closely with company founder Maurice Petersen and then with Petersen’s son, Mike, who is the current president.
During his 49-year career at Petersen, Paleczny also held volunteer leadership positions, including president of the Chicago chapter of the former National Association of Aluminum Distributors, chair of the Metals Service Center Institute’s (MSCI) aluminum division, and a term on the MSCI executive board. He also served on multiple committees and supporting groups in his career. In 2018, MSCI gave its Lifetime Achievement Award to Paleczny in recognition of his contribution to the metals industry during his career.
Gary Towndrow, RG Architectural
Longtime Washington Glass Association (WGA) member Gary Towndrow of RG Architectural died November 23. He is survived by his wife, Pat, and son, Greg, of RG Architectural.
Towndrow held various officer positions on the WGA board, including president, and he chaired the WGA Golf Tournament. He also co-chaired the WGA Architectural Softball Team with his friend Bob Brockway of Eastside Glass.
Jon Larson, Larson’s Glass
Jon Larson, a project manager at Larson’s Glass in Puyallup, Wash., and a fourth-generation Larson in the company, passed away unexpectedly November 17 at the age of 37. He was also a former board member of the Washington Glass Association. He attended Puyallup High School and Washington State University.
Larson is survived by his wife, Christa Larson; parents, Lisa Mann and Doug Larson; brother, Konrad Larson; and grandparents, Donovan and MaryAnn Larson and Anthony and Patricia Heinz.
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