AkzoNobel announces leadership changes
AkzoNobel announced that the supervisory board and board member Leif
Darner have mutually agreed that he will
step down from the board of management at the 2013 Annual General Meeting in April. Conrad Keijzer, currently
managing director of AkzoNobel Industrial Coatings, will succeed Leif Darner
in his responsibilities for Performance
Coatings. Keijzer will join the executive
committee on January 1, 2013.
Darner has had an extensive and successful career at AkzoNobel, joining the
company in 1998 when Courtaulds became part of the company. He was appointed business unit manager of
AkzoNobel Marine and Protective Coatings in 1999, a position he held until
2004, when he was appointed to the
board of management as member responsible for Chemicals. In May 2008,
he assumed responsibility for the Performance Coatings business area.
In addition, Werner Fuhrmann, cur-
rently executive committee member re-
sponsible for supply chain and sourcing,
and presently also responsible for the
Specialty Chemicals business area on an
interim basis, will officially become the
executive committee member responsible
for Specialty Chemicals.
CEO Ton Büchner expected to
return to AkzoNobel year-end
AkzoNobel’s supervisory board received
an update on the progress of CEO Ton
Büchner’s recovery. Following a supervi-
sory board meeting, the company re-
ported that medical specialists expect the
CEO to fully recover and that it is antic-
ipated that he will return to work some-
time around year-end.
Trust Chem names Orlowski
executive VP of marketing
and sales in the U.S.
Trust Chem Co. Ltd. (P.R. China) hired
Falko Orlowski as executive vice president marketing and sales U.S. Orlowski
has 20 years of experience in the organic
pigment and dispersion industry. He has
worked in a variety of positions at Clariant (Hoechst), including responsibility as
marketing and sales director for plastic
Coatings industry mourns Steve Guntner
Steve Guntner, a coatings industry veteran passed away September 28
after a brief illness. Steve, 63, was well known and regarded in the
coatings industry, with a career spanning more than 30 years.
Steve started his career in the mixing industry with Scott Turbine
Mixers in the 1980s.
“Steve was such a good person. We always liked him,” said Bill
Scott of Scott Turbine Mixers. “He came to us as a graphics designer
to help us get our business started. He really got what a mixer was and
quickly moved to sales. He was perfect for the job; soft spoken, not
pushy. He became very knowledgeable in the process side of what we
do. We were learning together on how to grow my company. In fact,
I tried to hire him back about twelve years ago but he was dedicated
to running his own representative firm at the time.”
Steve spent a decade at Hockmeyer Equipment Corp. from Septem-
ber 1991 to October 2001, where he concentrated primarily on sales
into Asia and the west coast of the United States. “He was a trusted
friend, an astute professional and a gentleman,” said Herman Hock-
meyer of Hockmeyer Equipment Corp. “We send our respects to his
family and wide network of friends, all of whom shall grieve his loss.”
Most recently, Steve served as sales manager at Myers Engineering.
Friends and colleagues remembered Steve for both his technical
knowledge and his wonderful personality.
“Steve Guntner was one of this industry’s leading experts on the
application of mixing and blending equipment,” said Cary Buller, vice
president, Myers Engineering. “Not only has our company lost a mem-
ber who was a key team player, but the industry has been shorted his
talents. Steve left quite a mark on the industry and he will be remem-
bered for a long time to come. Steve was an incredible team player
who worked well with customers and vendors. The people he worked
with will all miss him tremendously.”
“Steve Guntner was a wonderful person who was well liked through-
out the entire industry,” said JD Hodgson, order processing and traffic
manager at Myers Engineering. “Steve was very knowledgeable and cus-
tomers from around the world truly enjoyed working with him. Through-
out the many years I worked with him he taught me a lot. He will be truly
missed.”
“I have worked with Steve in various places and times for over
twenty-five years,” said Cathy Strahan of Myers Engineering. “He
brought me into this industry as a rep for Hockmeyer and I brought him
to Myers as the sales manager. He was a constant source of guidance
and information. Interesting how the circle closed.”
Steve is survived by his wife, Susan and two sons, Sam and Erik.
44 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
November 2012
