Personnel Notes

Tamsin Ettefagh joins PureCycle Technologies

PureCycle Technologies LLC, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, has announced that Tamsin Ettefagh has joined the polypropylene (PP) recycling company as vice president of industry relations.

PureCycle Technologies holds a global license to commercialize a patented solvent-based purification recycling technology for restoring end-of-life PP into virgin-like resin. The process removes color, odor and other contaminants from recycled feedstock, resulting in what the company says is a “virgin-like” PP.

Ettefagh has more than 32 years of experience in recycling, including implementing a recycling collection program, running recycling operations, purchasing raw materials and selling recycled resins. Prior to joining PureCycle, she worked as a consultant in an independent capacity as well as for major consulting firms in the plastics recycling space, focusing on strategy and implementation to advancements in process, primarily in polyolefins. Ettefagh has consulted for agencies, banks and potential plastic manufacturers on market conditions, types of supply and how to evolve and diversify markets for recycled resins.

She also has served on several boards, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition from 2019 to 2020.

Eriez names global senior director of marketing and brand management

Erie, Pennsylvania-based separation technology manufacturer Eriez has promoted John Blicha to the position of global senior director of marketing and brand management. Since joining Eriez in 2012 as manager of marketing communications, Blicha consistently has earned promotions to various roles of increasing responsibility within the company’s marketing department, according to a news release from the manufacturer.

In his new role, Blicha heads the company’s global marketing efforts and serves as a member of the Eriez executive management team. Eriez President and CEO Lukas Guenthardt says Blicha will be instrumental in developing strategic global and regional marketing initiatives in conjunction with the sales and marketing staff in Eriez’s worldwide operating units.

His additional job responsibilities include leading the development and implementation of a global initiative under the “one Eriez” umbrella in areas such as product standardization, communications and more.

Guenthardt says Blicha’s excitement, energy and creative vision make him exceptionally well-suited for the new challenges he is taking on as the leader of the company’s global marketing and brand management activities.

“John has the breadth of experience and unrelenting drive to take the Eriez brand to the next level,” he says. “Given his experience working with Eriez-USA as well as with our magnetic subsidiaries and our flotation group, I am confident that John has what it takes to enhance and grow our unique brand as the world leader in separation technology and solutions.”

Blicha has two degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania: a Bachelor of Science in marketing and a Bachelor of Science in management. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from California University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining Eriez, Blicha held marketing and management positions at local and international industrial equipment companies.

Sweed adds recycling systems representative

Sweed, an Oregon-based manufacturer of wire and cable recycling systems, has announced that Christopher Simon has joined the company as a recycling system sales representative. Since 1997, Simon has been working in the recycling industry in various roles, including sales, design, project management and installation.

As a recycling system sales representative, Simon will ensure that the company offers the right solutions for prospective customers’ unique needs and equipment. His primary focus will be selling recycling systems for wire and other nonferrous materials.

“Since we run a nonferrous recycling and wire processing system at our facility in Oregon, we understand the process and can offer the best solutions for each application,” Simon says. “The leadership at Sweed understands that we are partners with our customers. They focus on long-term relationships and customer support,” he adds.

According to the company, that focus, along with its track record for high-quality custom equipment, has given Sweed a good reputation.

“One of the main reasons I am so excited to join Sweed is their reputation in the industry,” Simon says. “When working with customers, I can leverage the years of experience internal to Sweed.”

Waste Pro appoints divisional vice president

Waste Pro USA, Longwood, Florida, has promoted Richard Sarac to divisional vice president. He will oversee operations in Tennessee, Arkansas and northern Mississippi.

Sarac, who has 30 years of experience in the waste industry, joined Waste Pro in 2020 as the division manager of the Memphis office. In that role, he supervised nearly 100 employees servicing 70,000 residents in the Memphis area.

“I’m proud to be part of the stellar team in Waste Pro’s southern region,” Sarac says. “This market is full of opportunity, and we’ve grown exponentially here over the last few years. I’m ready to lead this incredible team to whatever is in store for us in 2021.”

Waste Pro has locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and North and South Carolina.

RRT adds planning and advisory services director

RRT Design & Construction (RRT), Melville, New York, has added Kate S. Vasquez as director of planning and advisory services – solid waste. She will be responsible for expanding RRT’s consulting practice to incorporate program design elements into its design, engineering, construction, project management, renewable energy engineering and facility inspection services.

Vasquez has 18 years of solid waste industry experience, including with public agencies and the private sector. She served nearly 10 years with Virginia’s Fairfax County solid waste program and spent the past eight years with the McLean, Virginia-based consulting firm GBB Inc.

Her areas of expertise include comprehensive planning, program design, implementation, regulatory and legislative analysis.

Vasquez holds a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and recently was elected to the board of directors of Virginia’s Old Dominion chapter of SWANA, the Solid Waste Association of North America.