For the second time in less than two years, there's been a change at the top for GE Plastics.
This time, 19-year GE veteran John Krenicki has replaced Yoshiaki Fujimori as the unit's president and chief executive officer. Fujimori, who had led Pittsfield, Mass.-based GE Plastics since May 2001, will move to a similar position at GE Asia.
Krenicki most recently served as president and CEO of GE Transportation Systems. He joined GE in 1984 and spent most of his first 13 years in its plastics and silicones businesses. Krenicki, 40, inherits a unit that saw profit tumble 28 percent to $843 million in 2002 as sales stayed flat at about $5.2 billion. In 2002, GE Plastics represented about 4 percent of sales and 6 percent of profit for parent General Electric Co. of Fairfield, Conn.
``John Krenicki returns to [GE] Plastics with more than a dozen years of experience in this industry, that is now facing some of its toughest pricing and technology challenges in decades,'' GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said in a Jan. 24 news release.
``I am confident [Krenicki] will help GE Plastics customers meet their changing needs around the globe, and allow GE to continue as a global leader in this business,'' Immelt added.
GE Plastics ranks as one of the world's largest makers of polycarbonate, ABS and other specialty resins.
The unit also includes resin distributor GE Polymerland, plastic shapes distributor GE Polymershapes and GE Plastic Structured Products, which ranks as one of North America's largest film and sheet extruders.
