Personnel notes

In Memoriam:

John Wagner

John Wagner, founder and owner of Allegheny Shredders, Delmont, Pennsylvania, died Sept. 10, 2014, at the age of 86.

Wagner founded Allegheny Shredders more than 45 years ago. In 1971, according to the company, he introduced the first high-capacity shredder in the document destruction industry—a 15-horsepower unit—paving the way for increasingly powerful machines and innovative equipment solutions.

Allegheny Shredders credits the company’s growth and reputation to Wagner’s engineering talent, leadership skills and enthusiasm for providing the customer with a quality product.

Wagner’s achievements include “the Auto-Feed System™, Allegheny’s high-impact-resistant T-18 tool steel cutters and the industry’s first truly high-performance, complete destruction system—offering a capacity of over 25 tons per hour,” the company’s website notes.

His legacy in the industry is carried on by his sons and his grandson, according to Allegheny Shredders.

“John was a man of enthusiasm, humor and ‘big thinking,’” the company says in a statement. “As all who knew him will attest, John was devoted to his family, his employees, his customers and his country. He will be sorely missed and never replaced.”
 

Ron Deffenbaugh Sr.

Ron Deffenbaugh Sr., who founded the waste management company Deffenbaugh Industries Inc. in 1957, has died at the age of 73. His death was attributed to complications related to a 2007 accident that left him a quadriplegic at age 66.

Deffenbaugh started the Kansas City, Kansas, company with one truck. It grew to become one of the largest waste management companies in the Midwest. He sold the firm, which serves customers in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska, to an affiliate of the private equity firm Credit Suisse in 2007.

Purchased recently by Waste Management, Houston, Deffenbaugh Industries and its affiliates provide commercial and residential waste disposal, collection and transportation; commercial and residential recycling; construction waste services; and portable toilet services. It also owns and operates a landfill in Shawnee, Kansas.
 

Robert Harvey

Robert Harvey, who help found the recycling and waste management firm E.L. Harvey & Sons, Westborough, Massachusetts, died Aug. 30, 2014.

He joined his father, Emory L. Harvey, and brother, James A. Harvey, in the family business, E.L. Harvey, which was formed in 1911. In 1940 the company began offering recycling services.

Harvey was president of the company until his retirement in 2004.

He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Jane; two sons, William and Ben; and a daughter, Dorothy Thompson. His eldest son, Robert Jr., died in 1984.

Family owned for four generations, E.L. Harvey operates a high-grade scrap paper processing, shredding and baling plant; a waste transfer station; and a C&D transfer and recycling operation.

International Paper selects next CEO

The board of directors of International Paper (IP), Memphis, Tennessee, has elected Mark Sutton, formerly its president and COO, as its next chairman and CEO. He replaces the retiring John Faraci, who served as CEO and chairman of IP since November 2003.

Sutton assumed the role of CEO Nov. 1, 2014, and will take the chairman’s position Jan. 1, 2015.

“Mark Sutton’s election as CEO and chairman and the other changes we are announcing today reaffirm International Paper’s ongoing commitment to developing a strong, deep bench that will lead the company to an even more successful future,” Faraci says.

IP also announced the following changes to its management staff:

• Thomas Kadien was named senior vice president, human resources, communications and global government relations, in addition to his supply chain duties.
• Timothy Nicholls was named senior vice president, industrial packaging.
• William Hoel was named senior vice president, container, for the Americas.
• W. Michael Amick Jr. was elected senior vice president, North America papers, pulp and consumer packaging.
• Glenn Landau was elected senior vice president and will continue as president, IP Latin America, with responsibilities for operations in Brazil.
• Rampraveen Swaminathan was named president of IP India.