Personnel Notes

Weima America names new CEO

Weima America, Fort Mill, South Carolina, the U.S. subsidiary of Weima Maschinenbau GmbH of Ilsfeld, Germany, says its growth has prompted the company to strengthen its leadership team to better meet the needs of its current and future customers.

Madison Burt has been a member of the leadership team of Weima America for more than a decade. He transitioned from the role of vice president of sales and marketing to chief executive officer Jan. 1.

A graduate of Mississippi State University, Burt has an extensive background in engineering, according to the company. His career in size reduction began in the hammermill industry. He joined the Weima sales team in 2002.

“After more than 25 years in the size-reduction industry, I am thrilled to have been offered to lead Weima’s North American team. I see a bright future for Weima and look forward to continuing the momentum we have built,” Burt says.

As Burt shifts into his new role as CEO, Jeremy Boggs will assume the role of national sales manager.

Weima says Boggs has been an integral part of Weima’s growth since 2007. His skill set lends itself to overseeing the intricacies of the sales and engineering processes that take place prior to the shipment of a machine to a customer’s facility.

Weima has been manufacturing equipment used in the recycling industry for more than four decades and has sold more than 40,000 machines worldwide. Its lineup includes single-shaft shredders, four-shaft shredders, cutting mills, briquette presses, packaging and draining presses that are used in the processing of wood, plastics, paper, packaging and metal and in the waste-to-energy industry.

Aluminum Association welcomes new president, CEO

The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, has appointed Charles “Chuck” Johnson as its new president and chief executive officer. He started in in his new role Jan. 3. 

Tom Dobbins, the former president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, left the position in the fall of 2021. Several executives within the association served on its interim leadership team for the rest of 2021.

According to a news release from the Aluminum Association, Johnson previously spent more than four years as president and CEO of the  International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), an Arlington-based trade organization that represents the personal protective equipment and technologies industry. He led the modernization of the ISEA’s operations and accounting program and spearheaded the passage of key liability legislation for safety equipment manufacturers. During his tenure with the ISEA, the association also significantly grew its membership, staff and budget.

Prior to his role at the ISEA, Johnson served for 19 years at the Aluminum Association in roles of increasing responsibility, including as vice president for policy. In this role, he acted as key strategic advisor to the industry on issues including environmental regulation, occupational health and safety, community and consumer protection, international regulation and sustainability.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Aluminum Association’s next chapter during this exciting time for the U.S. aluminum industry,” Johnson says. “Aluminum has enormous opportunities and challenges in areas like global trade, recycling, climate and supply chain issues, and I look forward to working with the association’s leadership and staff on moving the industry forward.”

“Chuck is a natural born leader and also has a tremendous depth and breadth of experience on aluminum industry issues,” says Buddy Stemple, CEO of Ravenswood, West Virginia-based Constellium Rolled Products and chair of the Aluminum Association. “He is uniquely qualified to step into this new role. I couldn’t be more excited to bring him on board,” Stemple adds.

AF&PA announces three VP promotions

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has promoted three executives within the association. Elizabeth VanDersarl has been named vice president for strategy and operations, Lindsay Murphy is the new vice president of strategic communications and Terry Webber  has been named vice president of industry affairs.

VanDersarl formerly served as AF&PA’s interim vice president of government and industry affairs. In her new role with the association, she is responsible for providing strategic guidance for the goals of the association and overseeing human resources, facilities, meetings, information technology and some finance functions at AF&PA. VanDersarl joined AF&PA in 2005 and has held numerous positions.

Prior to joining the AF&PA, she helped lead the development of regulatory policy and White House review of regulations at the Office of Management & Budget. Her areas of focus included homeland security, transportation, labor, housing and health. VanDersarl also served as counsel to Ranking Sen. Fred Thompson on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Her first job in Washington was with political pollster and pundit Frank Luntz. Before arriving to the nation’s capital, she was an assistant state’s attorney in Illinois.

Murphy previously served as AF&PA’s executive director of strategic communications. In her new position, she is responsible for crafting and executing complex strategic communications plans on notable public policy issues.

She joined AF&PA in January 2019 and led the modernization of digital assets to advance legislative and policy goals and addressed a wide variety of communications challenges—advancing issues, garnering publicity and negotiating crowded message environments.

Having begun her career on Capitol Hill, Murphy previously held positions at various nonprofit, health trade associations and public affairs firms, directing strategy and outreach.

Before stepping up as AF&PA’s vice president of industry affairs, Webber served as the association’s executive director of packaging. In his new role, he is responsible for maintaining synergy with government affairs, ensuring marketplace strategies across the sectors and identifying new engagement opportunities for AF&PA Industry Statistics.

He joined AF&PA in 2011 and has worked in various roles in government and industry affairs.

Prior to joining AF&PA, Webber was a postgraduate legal fellow for the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a legal extern for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. He also has an extensive background in Oregon politics as campaign staff for former NBA player Chris Dudley’s 2010 run for Oregon governor and as senior staff for the state House Republican Caucus.

“I am excited to announce the staff promotions of Elizabeth VanDersarl, Lindsay Murphy and Terry Webber,” says AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “These staff members are passionate in their pursuit of our member companies’ remarkable sustainability goals, Better Practices, Better Planet 2030: Sustainable Products for a Sustainable Future. Today, we recognize their significant contributions made to AF&PA and the paper and wood products industry. I look forward to their continued leadership and congratulate them on their success.”

The association also recently announced adding Eric Steiner as its vice president of government affairs to help lead its legislative agenda and drive advocacy efforts.

BIR appoints presidents to Ferrous, Paper divisions

The board of the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Ferrous Division has appointed Denis Reuter, chief operating officer of TSR Recycling GmbH & Co. KG, as its president, and the board of the BIR Paper Division has appointed Francisco Donoso as its president.

Reuter is a long-standing member of the BIR and has been active on the Ferrous Division board since 2019, the association says. He joined TSR in 2010 and now is responsible for all the trading activities for ferrous and nonferrous metals.

TSR Recycling, with headquarters in Lünen, Germany, is a major European scrap trading and processing company and has 160 locations, mainly in Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Poland. The company provides services for the metalworking trade, large industries and municipalities.

“I am delighted to welcome Denis to the BIR Executive Committee, and I am certain that he will greatly contribute to BIR’s road map for the years to come,” says BIR President Tom Bird.

Reuter replaces Gregory Schnitzer of Sims Metal Management in the board position.

Donoso is managing director at Alba Servicios Verdes in Spain and is described by the association as a long-standing member of BIR, having been active on the Paper Division board since 2008. He also is a vice president of the Spanish BIR member association Repacar and board member of the Union de Empresas de Recuperacion in Spain.

“Francisco has not only a deep knowledge of the paper recycling industry but also of the important associative work provided by BIR’s Paper Division,” Bird says. “I am sure that under his leadership, the division will grow and diversify in order to reflect the global importance of the recovered paper industry.”

Bird also credits Jean-Luc Petithuguenin of France-based Paprec Recyclage for his prior service as president of the BIR Paper Division and for his “continuous support to BIR in the past difficult period.”