ARKEMA INC. - The Philadelphia-based specialty plastics and chemicals supplier named Ryan Dirkx vice president of research and development, succeeding Louis Hegedus, who retired as senior vice president of R&D.
BORDERLAND PLASTICS - The injection molder in Nogales, Mexico, named Kenny Aldrich a partner and vice president of manufacturing.
BAMBERGER POLYMERS INC. - Lawrence Ubertini, chief executive officer of the Jericho, N.Y., resin distributor, was named a finalist in New York accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards program.
CADENCE INNOVATION LLC - The Tier 1 automotive injection molder of interior and exterior components named James Puscas vice president of the General Motors Corp. business unit.
FENEREP INC. - Business consultants Paul Gundersen of Superior, Wis., and Chuck Gilderman of Duluth, Minn., have formed a window manufacturers' representative firm.
FORTUNE PLASTICS INC. - The film maker in Old Saybrook, Conn., named Jim Mills regional sales manager for the central U.S., based in Lebanon Tenn.
IRRIGATION ASSOCIATION - The trade group in Falls Church, Va., named Deborah Hamlin executive director, effective Sept. 5. Hamlin was executive director of the International Association of Plastics Distributors in Leawood, Kan.
ISO POLY FILMS INC. - The custom film manufacturer based in Gray Court, S.C., named Valerie Anderson quality assurance manager.
MESSE DÜSSELDORF GMBH - The organizer of international trade shows in Dusseldorf, Germany, has added new members to the K 2007 exhibitor council: Felix Loose of Roga KG Dr. Loose GmbH & Co. in Wesseling, Germany; Josef Märtl of Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH in Munich, Germany; Peter Neumann of Engel Austria GmbH in Schwertberg, Austria; and Wolfgang Studener of Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
THERMOFORMING SYSTEMS LLC - The thermoforming equipment maker in Union Gap, Wash., named James Naughton president, succeeding Thomas Feichter, who remains on the board. Hayes Stripling joined affiliate Sunwell USA LLC, a maker of foam and sheet equipment, as vice president and general manager.
TIETEK INC. - The maker of composite railroad crossties in Marshall, Texas, named Steve Darnell operations director, Scott House engineering director and Dan Brink sales director. Chief Executive Officer Neal Kaufman joined the board of parent company North American Technologies Group Inc. of Houston.
VENTURE PLASTICS INC. - The Newton Falls, Ohio, injection molder named David Banfield general manager of its El Paso, Texas, facility.
Briefly ...
* DURACO INC., a provider of adhesive-coated foam and film tapes in Forest Park, Ill., named Tom McCouch Northeast account manager. ... Heerlen, the Netherlands-based materials supplier DSM NV named Anton Robek melamine business group director, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Hans Dijkman, who will retire.