Toray Plastics gets first American CEO

NORTH KINGSTOWN – Richard Schloesser, a 19-year veteran of Toray Plastics (America) Inc., has been named the company’s chief executive. He is the first American to achieve that position.
It is the latest in a series of firsts for Schloesser, who in June became the first American president and chief operating officer of Toray Plastics (READ MORE) – a unit of of Japan’s Toray Industries Inc. – and a year earlier had been named its first American executive vice president.
He succeeds Kojiro Maeda – a 33-year veteran of Toray Plastics and its Tokyo-based parent company – who in July was named the U.S. division’s first chairman of the board. (READ MORE) The former Toray Plastics chairman and CEO is returning to Japan to assume the role of deputy general manager of Toray Industries’ Films Division.
“Rick’s leadership over the years has enabled Toray Plastics (America) to achieve outstanding results, including continued growth,” Maeda said in a statement. “The company is in very good hands.”
The promotion places Schloesser in “total management” of the U.S.-based plastics maker, the company said. He will continue to serve as president of Toray Plastics and will also act as an adviser to the parent company’s board of directors.
Schloesser joined Toray Plastics (America) in 1990 as a sales and marketing manager with the Torayfan division. He previously had worked at ExxonMobil for 13 years, including nine years in that company’s films division.
He recently has been spearheading the company’s expansion into Europe, including the establishment of the Toray Films Europe SAS business unit, in Rhône-Alpes, France, where production of Torayfan metalized film is slated to begin in 2010. (READ MORE)
“Toray’s legacy of success is a function of its commitment to excellence in all areas of its operations, especially in terms of innovation and service on behalf of the customer,” Schloesser said. “I look forward to helping the company maintain its focus on its core principles and ensuring its continued success.”
Toray Plastics (America) Inc., founded in 1985, is a manufacturer of polyester and polypropylene films for flexible and rigid packaging, lidding, graphic, industrial, optical and electronic applications. It is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Toray Industries Inc., a maker of synthetic fibers and textiles, carbon fibers, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and high-performance films whose annual sales exceed $16 billion. To learn more, visit www.TorayFilms.com.

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