Ashland Distribution Co., a leading resin distributor based in Dublin, Ohio, has made some major changes at the executive level in recent months.
David Bening, Tom Maconachy and Michael Ojile each have left the firm since June, according to several industry contacts. Bening, vice president of sourcing, had been with Ashland and General Polymers - the distribution firm it acquired in 1983 - for 24 years. Ojile, a 20-year Ashland veteran, last held the position of North American/European global source management director for GP. Maconachy also is a longtime GP employee who last worked in account management.
Attempts to reach Bening, Maconachy and Ojile by phone were unsuccessful.
Ashland officials would not confirm the departures, citing employee confidentiality. Spokesman Jim Vitak did confirm that some jobs have been cut at Ashland Distribution and parent Ashland Inc. since the start of the year, but he declined to confirm a job-cut number of 100 that appeared in a Columbus Dispatch story Sept. 20.
Michael Gilbert, who was plastics marketing director, recently was named director of source management for the plastics business.
Ashland Inc. of Covington, Ky., has been cutting costs since last year. Ashland Distribution, which includes plastics, chemicals, composites, ingredients and environmental services, improved its financial profile in the first nine months of the firm's fiscal year. Sales climbed 10 percent to almost $2.1 billion, while profit more than tripled to $27 million.
