Encore Wire reported four key positions. Kyle Carter was named a regional vice president of sales. He started as an intern in the sales department in 2009 and was promoted to director of sales in 2019. He holds a B.S. degree in business management and marketing from Oklahoma State University. Dustin Logston was named a regional vice president of sales. He joined Encore Wire in 2009 as an account manager and has served as director of sales since 2016. He holds a B.S. degree in business administration and economics from Austin College. Chris Tucker has been promoted to vice president of non-ferrous metals. He started with the company as a process engineer in 2012 and served as assistant rod mill manager, rod facility manager and, before his promotion, as director of non-ferrous metals. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Tyler. Mike Kammerdiener has been promoted to vice president of engineering. He spent time in three different industries—chemicals, aerospace and demolition—before joining the company in 2012 as an engineering director. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Based in McKinney, Texas, Encore Wire is one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of copper and aluminum electrical building wire for residential, commercial and industrial use.

 David Skinner was named vice president of operations for Joe Tools. He has 39 years of experience in wire and cable manufacturing, including 34 years with Southwire Company and five years with Honeywell Genesis Cable, starting out as a machine operator and rising to strategic positions such as operations manager, site leader and his most recent post, vice president of industrial manufacturing for Southwire Company. Based in metropolitan Atlanta, Joe Tools is a complete design and manufacturing resource for premium quality extrusion products that include innovative and industry standard crossheads, tips, dies, breaker plates and all accessories.

 Paula Butkevich has joined Hueson Wire & Cable as director of sales and business development. She most recently worked for Proterial Cable America (formerly Hitachi Cable America), where she was senior vice president of sales and business development. While there, she held P&L responsibility for a $50 million + revenue global business unit, restructured the Sales organization, and drove the overall sales strategy for Proterial’s medical vertical. She holds a B.S. degree in human resources management and services from Western Connecticut State University. Based in South Grafton, Massachusetts, Hueson Wire & Cable manufactures custom wire and cable for sectors that include agricultural, industrial automation, lighting and robotics. 

Sjogren Industries reported three recent personnel changes, one of which was the naming of Udo Plocher as the company’s CEO. He has more than 30 years of experience, gathered in various countries and industries. His areas of expertise include industrial engineering, business development, employee development, as well as lean organization and quality management in regulated environments. David Roberge is the new business development manager. He has more than a decade of experience in marketing and growth leadership in B2B manufacturing, driving personal and professional development for teams and revenues in varying industries. Michael Elwell is a sales applications specialist at Sjogren Industries. He has more than 19 years of experience in the wire and cable industry, with past employers including Hueson Wire, EIS Wire and Cable and Quabbin Wire & Cable. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, Sjogren Industries designs and manufactures customized solutions for the wire industry tooling trade.

Eric Peeters has joined Bekaert as Division CEO Construction Decarbonization and as a member of the Bekaert Group Executive. He has 32 years of experience in the field of advanced materials, working at Dow Corning and Dow, serving in a range of general management and executive leadership roles. He most recently had been vice president for sustainability, coatings & performance materials at Dow. He holds an M.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Leuven. Based in Zwevegem, Belgium, N.V. Bekaert S.A. is a global company whose primary business is steel wire transformation and coatings.

Northern Cables Inc. named Mike Christiansen as the company’s new Western Canada Territory manager. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, including service as vice-president of sales at Lapp Canada, national sales and product manager for wire and cable at Graybar Canada as well as a 5-year stint at Anixter. Based in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, Northern Cables Inc., specializes in manufacturing armored cable for industrial and commercial markets.

Obituary
Gianpietro Benedetti, a developer of Danieli plant-making and steelmaking business who was known for more than 60 years for his “endless” passion for work and innovation, died April 28 at the age of 81.
Benedetti’s ideas led to more than many 80 patents, the most notable of which is perhaps the endless casting and rolling process. that revolutionized long and flat steel production worldwide, in the most effective, competitive, green way. His career started under the Danieli flag in 1961 as a designer in the technical office for long product rolling mills, continued as a project engineer, and then a plant start-up engineer. He became manager of the rolling mill process and roll pass design offices in 1968 and director of R&D in 1976. He became sales director in 1982 and was appointed Danieli Group managing director in 1986. Four years later he ascended to Group president and CEO. From October 2003 he drove the company as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Danieli Group and, from 2017, also as chairman of the Executive Board. Benedetti also was a member of the Board of Directors of Acciaierie Bertoli Safau SpA, a mining and metals company owned by Danieli, since 1994.
Backed by an extraordinary vision, Benedetti impressed his ideas upon the Group and the industry, which led to an ongoing transformation process, establishing a path for continuous growth. Benedetti received honorary degrees from three different universities in mechanical engineering, in management engineering, and international business between 2010 and 2018. Benedetti’s passion for art and sense of social responsibility led to several significant restoration projects across the Danieli homeland. With strong beliefs towards the regional education system, he launched and developed several scholarship and international university programs, including Danieli’s educational projects. In June 2006, the National Order of Chivalry made Gianpietro Benedetti a knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 2018, in recognition of his leadership in steelmaking technology and plant building, he received the Tadeusz Sendzimir Memorial Medal from the AIST Association, USA.