Duane Jebbett was named president and chief operating officer in September 1998 of what was then called Rowmark Inc., nearly a year after the company began life as a separate entity. Since its formation in 1993, the business had operated as the sheet division of Findlay, Ohio, pipe extruder Hancor Inc. Hancor CEO Fred Kremer stepped down from that post and bought Rowmark outright from Hancor in October 1997, and then died in a company plane crash just two months later.
Jebbett, a Kremer protege and now president/CEO, has steered the Findlay-based company to a leadership position as an extruder of plastic sheet for the custom engraving, signage and awards markets worldwide. He also helped engineer a management buyout of the family-held firm in late 2006 with the help of private investment firm Clearview Capital LLC of Old Greenwich, Conn.
Now called Rowmark LLC, the firm also has two other divisions — Premier Materials Concepts, a custom manufacturer of sheet and roll stock for the signage, point-of-purchase and thermoforming markets, and Tromark SAS, a joint venture between Rowmark and Trodat GmbH, an Austrian maker of self-inking stamps. Jebbett serves as an officer on both the Rowmark and Tromark boards.
Before joining Rowmark, he was vice president of sales for Hancor and held other management positions during his career. He earned a degree in food service administration from the State University of New York, and graduated from the University of North Carolina's advanced management program.
He also is a board member of PolymerOhio Inc. and is very active in his local community and with area charities.