Crompion International Makes Organization Changes

To support its recently completed brand transformation, this Louisiana-based specialty stainless steels manufacturer and service supplier invests in proven talent in announcing an executive promotion and key sales hires.

Crompion International, LLC (Baton Rouge, LA) announced a major promotion and three key executive hires to support its recently completed brand transformation, which is designed to expand global presence and reinforce focus on creating solutions through new specialty stainless steel products and services.

The company announced it has promoted long-time employee Ken Grantham to executive vice president and hired Bob Whipple as vice president of engineering, Angel Proaño as vice president of international sales and Dave Carter as sales manager.

Grantham was promoted from director of technical sales and services to his new role. He has been a stalwart in the metals industry and has been with Crompion since 2008. Grantham will serve as a face of the company for all markets and industries that the company services.

In his five years with Crompion, Grantham has successfully managed exceptional internal and external quality and process controls while maintaining the company’s ISO 9000:2008 accreditation, expanded scope of sales to include many new product offerings, expanded value added products and services and also added advanced 3D modeling and simulation capabilities.

He has been responsible for superb strategic partner, supplier and customer development, which has led to double-digit year over year sales growth from 2010-13. Before joining the company Grantham served as the vice president of engineering and new product development at Millennium Industries, a Tier I automotive supplier of critical fuel and steering systems, in Michigan since 2003.

“We are excited to announce Ken’s promotion. He has been a key figure here for five years and is very deserving of this new position. His deep knowledge of the metals industry, coupled with the personal and professional relationships he has created, are the cornerstones of his success,” stated George M. Schaffer, the president of Crompion International. “Ken provides a solid foundation for our product progression and international expansion and he will continue to represent the company well in the metals industry. His new role oversees three of our most critical departments and will help us to better deliver effective solutions to our customers.”

Whipple joins the team in a position critical to the company’s solutions-based service. In his new capacity, Whipple will consult with customers on potential equipment material improvements using specialty stainless steels, specifically ferritic and duplex stainless steels supported by Crompion, engage in technical discussions, demonstrations and presentations with potential clients and team members and identify corrosion and structural problems in order to provide customer solutions.

For the past nine years, Whipple has worked as a professional metals engineering consultant. His past experience includes 12 years working as senior calrod component engineer and project team leader for General Electric and five years as lead project engineer and manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he designed, developed and implemented the Powder Diffractometer Neutron Beam Line.

Whipple also holds a Masters of Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines (Golden, CO), one of the world’s leading higher education institutes for metals studies. “Bob is one of the industry’s premiere metallurgists. Having him join our team gives us an unprecedented level of metallurgy experience and knowledge that will benefit both current and potential customers throughout all the industries we serve,” noted Schaffer.

Proaño has over 12 years of experience in international sales, specializing in Central and South American business transactions. He will play a key role in introducing a worldwide base of clients and educating various industries on the benefits and efficiency of the company’s new specialty stainless steel products and accompanying services.

Proaño was previously executive president and sales manager at Flowers Santa Barbara Cia. Ltda. in Ecuador, where he was responsible for new international markets, including Russia. He also customized and designed trade show exhibits in several domestic and international and national flowers expositions.

Carter will be responsible for overseeing the sales division, including technical, inside and outside sales, as well as the company’s expansive portfolio of stainless steel grades and innovative specialty products. He joins the staff with more than 30 years of sales and management experience in a wide range of industries, including pulp and paper, wastewater treatment, automotive, energy and petrochemical.

He most recently served as vice president of sales for Dewetron Worldwide where, in his 14 years, he helped to launch the company’s U.S. division. Carter’s accomplishments include acquiring contracts for NASA’s Space Shuttle and Constellation Programs, The Predator Drone, The Global Hawk, Shell, Exxon and Marathon Oil. He has also provided services and equipment for work on the Missile Defense system and other projects designed to protect our service men and women in defense operations.

“Dave and Angel bring diverse and skilled sales backgrounds to Crompion International,” says Schaffer. “We are eager to increase both domestic and international sales of our new, innovative grades and products and both men will bring something new to the team that will help us better serve our customers and achieve our goals.”

As the world’s leading producer and distributor of Cromgard high-performance stainless steels, Crompion International prides itself on not only selling specialty products, but also leveraging its understanding of the markets in which its customers operate.

After rebranding the company from American Utility Metals to Crompion International in November 2012, the company expanded its presence in the international marketplace and reinforced its focus on creating customer solutions by offering new grades of Cromgard, new services and innovations, and an expanded team of industry experts and metallurgists to assist with customer needs.

Crompion International is committed to ensuring that inventory is in stock, services are performed to exact specifications and orders arrive on time. Crompion International’s strong and effective processes, which have been ISO certified since 2002, allow us to deliver on our promises and consistently satisfy customers. www.crompion.com