Personnel Notes

In memoriam: Vincente Fisas Comella

Vicente Fisas Comella, founder and honorary president of La Farga, a Spanish manufacturer of semifinished copper products and their alloys for the electrical, metal packaging, railway, tubes, automotive, billets and special conductors markets, died April 10, 2016, in Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Girona), Spain, embraced by his wife, his 12 children and more than 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A ceremony was held in his honor April 15, 2016, at the Colonia Lacambra Church on the company’s premises.

Fisas’ association with La Farga hearkens back to 1980, when the law firm he was part of was entrusted with resolving the industrial and financial crisis the company Francisco Lacambra of Masies de Voltregà, Spain, faced. Rather than declare bankruptcy, Fisas and his son-in-law, Oriol Guixà, sought to restructure the firm, founding La Farga Lacambra SA.

The company’s position has changed greatly since 1980. La Farga employs more than 300 people and pursues an innovation and reinvestment policy. As a result, over the past 35 years, La Farga says its invoicing has grown exponentially as it has increased its production capacity and international presence and taken on a global leadership role in copper refinery technology, with technological patents sold all around the world.

According to La Farga, Fisas leaves behind a company that is prepared to face the challenges brought about by the market. In 2015, the three Les Masies de Voltregà companies invoiced nearly $1 billion, with 181,977 tons produced at the consolidated level, with more than 40 percent of direct exports, and an after-tax cash flow of $12,400,000.

Fisas also was key in creating La Fundació La Farga, which dedicates more than $112,000 annually to higher-study scholarships. The annual budget is more than $280,000.

In a news release announcing his death, the company says, “We must not forget his great contribution to the success of the family company, in having created a strict family protocol governing standards of good company governance, currently a point of reference in our country.”

Stadler opens North American headquarters and appoints CEO, sales director

Earlier this year, Stadler America LLC appointed Matthew Everhart as its CEO and opened a new North American headquarters in Colfax, North Carolina. More recently, the company added Scott Jable, a 21-year veteran of the recycling industry, as North American sales director.

Everhart brings extensive recycling and process industry experience to his new role, Stadler says. A recycling industry veteran, he has collaborated with customers to execute many complex projects, requiring extensive global supply chain management and coordination with internal support teams.

“We’re thrilled to have someone of Mat’s experience and expertise join our team as an equity partner in our North American business,” says Willi Stadler, owner and managing director of Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH, based in Germany. “His extensive experience positions him well to run the business and continue to drive our growth in North America.”

The company’s North American headquarters in North Carolina provides a dedicated operations base for Stadler’s North American team. It includes office space and expanded warehouse capacity for spare parts inventory.

Stadler says Jable brings a wealth of experience in numerous recycling segments, including some of Stadler’s strongest equipment and system applications, including curbside single-stream, municipal solid waste, refuse-derived fuel, commercial and industrial and construction and demolition recycling.

“Both Willi Stadler and I are excited to have Scott on board,” says Everhart. “We know that, with more than two decades of industry knowledge and design experience, he will help us continue to grow Stadler’s North American business into the highly successful company Stadler is in other parts of the world.”

In his new role, Jable will be based in the Chicago area and will work with recyclers throughout the middle of North America.

Everhart will continue to work with recyclers in the eastern portions of the continent, while industry veteran Rutger Zweers will continue to serve recyclers in the western part of North America.