Riehl, Brenan

Brenan Riehl joined GW Plastics in 1988 and rose quickly through the ranks, from sales and marketing vice president, senior VP and chief operating officer to, in 1998, president and CEO, when he also joined the GW board.

Founded in Bethel, Vt., in 1955, GW Plastics (www.gwplastics.com) has developed into one of North America's leading precision plastic injection molding companies. During Riehl's tenure, the firm has grown from a regional, one-location company in Bethel to a diversified global enterprise with sites in the United States, Mexico and China. Worldwide, GW now employs about 600 people and runs more than 160 injection molding machines.

GW Plastics, with about $80 million in annual sales, offers new-product development and prototyping services through to mold construction, close-tolerance injection molding and component assembly, serving the healthcare, automotive and consumer/industrial markets. In the past decade the company has successfully flipped its core concentration from automotive to the more recession-resistant healthcare sector, working closely to develop new products with and do clean-room molding for various big-name medical product brand owners.

Prior to joining GW Plastics, Riehl spent five years with GE Plastics in Pittsfield, Mass., where he served in a number of market development positions — most notably helping the engineering resins supplier to successfully establish a new technology polymer business.

He started his career with the plastics products division of Owens-Illinois in Toledo, Ohio, in account management and plant-based manufacturing positions supplying the plastics packaging industry.

Riehl — who goes by the name Ben — also is a member of the board of directors for NSA Industries LLC, a Vermont-based sheet metal and fabricating company. A graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., he holds a bachelor of arts degree (with honors) in economics.