Personnel notes

In Memoriam: Wayne Huizenga

The founder of Houston-based Waste Management Inc. (WM), Wayne Huizenga, died March 22, 2018, at the age of 80, USA Today reports.

Huizenga was born Dec. 29, 1937, into a family of waste haulers. He started in the industry at the age of 25 with a single garbage truck, often driving from 2 a.m. to noon. Huizenga quickly grew the company through a series of acquisitions. By the time he took WM public in 1972, the company had acquired 133 haulers. By 1983, the Fortune 500 company was the biggest waste hauler in the country. WM currently serves more than 21 million municipal, commercial and industrial customers in the U.S. and Canada.

“We were deeply saddened to hear the news of Wayne Huizenga’s passing today,” Jim Fish, WM president and CEO, says in a statement that was issued by the company after Huizenga’s death was reported.

“As a founder of our company, he was greatly admired for his visionary spirit, entrepreneurial leadership, and ‘roll up your sleeves’ work ethic,” Fish continues. “While he and I never met, Wayne is a true legend at Waste Management, known for waking up at 2:30 in the morning to drive a truck and then knocking on doors in the afternoon to introduce himself to current and new customers. His legacy is a gift to us all.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Huizenga family on the passing of their patriarch and our friend and founder, Wayne Huizenga,” Fish concludes.

Huizenga also was the founder of Blockbuster Video and AutoNation and the owner of the MLB’s Florida Marlins, the NHL’s Florida Panthers and the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. He also went on to become the chairman of Phoenix-based Republic Services.

Huizenga was a five-time recipient of Financial World magazine’s “CEO of the Year” award and was named the Ernst & Young “2005 World Entrepreneur of the Year.”

In memoriam: James Zozzaro Sr.

James Zozzaro Sr., former owner of New Jersey-based Zozzaro Bros. Recycling Co. and a charter member of the New Jersey Paper Recycling Association, has died, according to an email circulated by the association.

Zozzaro formerly owned and operated Zozzaro Bros. Recycling Co. in Clifton, New Jersey, with his four sons, John, Jim, Larry and Allan. The facility, measuring 30,000 square feet, processed 700 tons to 1,000 tons of fiber during a single shift.

A viewing was held March 11, 2018, at Basralian Funeral Home. A funeral mass was scheduled for Monday, March 12, at St. Joseph Church in Oradell, New Jersey.

ProfitGuard adds national sales rep

ProfitGuard LLC (PG), Bingham Farms, Michigan, has added Matt Bonnell to its staff as its national sales representative.

Bonnell is a graduate of the Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and recently worked in the Wealth Management Advisory Department of Plante Moran in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Previously as an intern at PG, Bonnell developed a strong understanding of credit risk analysis and the credit decision process with specialized focus on the metals industry, the company says.

In his new position with the company, he will be responsible for business development and sales in North America across a broad spectrum of the metals industry.

ProfitGuard is a credit reporting service for the metals industry. Founded in 2000, the company provides a credit management platform from which clients can access timely and reliable credit, financial and trade payment information through a simple annual subscription, according to ProfitGuard. Its sister company, Global Commercial Credit (GCC), also based in Bingham Falls, is a specialty broker of domestic and export credit insurance to the metals industry.

Unifi appoints global corporate sustainability officer

Unifi Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina, has announced the appointment of Eddie Ingle to the positions of vice president of global corporate sustainability and general manager of recycled chip and flake. Ingle also continues to serve in his previous role as vice president of supply chain.

According to Unifi, Ingle will be responsible for driving its eco-friendly efforts and initiatives and will establish a singular sustainability mission for the company.

“We look forward to Eddie’s leadership in continuing to grow Unifi’s global sustainability strategy,” says Kevin Hall, Unifi chairman and CEO. “Everything Unifi does is done with an environmental mindset and through the lens of ‘for the good of tomorrow.’ Promoting Eddie to this position should allow Unifi to accelerate our sustainability goals and focus on further developing the company as a sustainability thought leader.”

Ingle began his career at Unifi’s operations in Letterkenny, Ireland, in 1986 and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1991 to work for Unifi in the U.S. Over the years, he has held numerous leadership positions.

“Unifi’s passion for recycling and sustainability has always been a point of pride for me,” Ingle says. “My goal moving forward is to collaborate across the company and industry to develop sustainable solutions that create value for Unifi, our customers and consumers.”

Unifi is a global textile provider and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of synthetic and recycled performance fibers. Through Repreve, one of Unifi’s proprietary technologies and a global leader in branded recycled performance fibers, the company says it has transformed more than 10 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new clothing, shoes, home goods and other consumer products.

Volvo names new Latin America vice president

Daniel is responsible for strengthening the market position of Volvo CE and SDLG in Latin American markets while reinforcing the brands’ efforts to bolster machine uptime and provide solutions for customers.

He reports to Stephen Roy, president of sales in the Americas region, and will be based in Curitiba, Brazil. He replaced Afranio Chuerie, who stepped down from the post March 31, 2018.

“What the Latin American team has been able to accomplish under Afranio’s leadership during a very challenging period is absolutely fantastic,” Daniel says. “I plan to continue on this path with the collaboration of this great team while working together with the Americas’ leadership team toward a common vision.”

Roy says the new appointment for Latin America is aligned with Volvo CE’s strategy to help customers as they grow their own companies.

“Daniel’s appointment is part of our efforts in Latin America to meet our customers’ demands in the region and provide unique solutions,” he comments.

Daniel joined the Volvo Group as product planning engineer at Volvo Trucks Brazil in 1986. After holding various senior management positions outside the Volvo Group, he returned in 2007 to manage key accounts, overseeing the Latin American markets. Between 2010 and 2012, Daniel managed commercial operations in Brazil, moving to the U.S. in 2013 as vice president of key accounts for Volvo CE sales Region Americas, managing relationships with key private and governmental customers.

American Baler announces personnel changes

American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio, has announced the retirement of Tade Mahoney, vice president of sales and marketing, and the promotion of Mike Schwinn to sales manager.

Mahoney has been employed by American Baler for more than 16 years. His most recent accomplishment was expanding the company’s dealer network. Mahoney completes a 30-plus-year career in the recycling equipment industry and “looks forward to adventures at home” with his wife, Nancy, in Maine, according to American Baler.

Schwinn previously served as the company’s key account salesman, where he developed several national accounts and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships. According to American Baler, he has been in the industry for 29 years and brings experience working with multiple manufacturers, distributors, national accounts and paper stock dealers.

American Baler, established in 1945, manufacturers manual-tie and auto-tie single-ram horizontal balers and two-ram auto-tie balers used in distribution centers, manufacturing facilities and recycling centers worldwide.