Guangzhou Tech-Long Packaging Machinery Co. Ltd.'s new CEO of Americas comes with more than 25 years of industry experience and has held senior executive positions with Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. and Sidel Group.
Before joining Tech-Long, Keith Boss served as vice president and general manager of North America at Sidel's North American headquarters in Norcross, Ga. He also worked for Husky for 21 years, from 1987 to 2008, in a number of positions in financial operations, management and sales in Asia, Buffalo, and Luxembourg.
In his new role, Boss will collaborate directly with Johnson Zhang, managing director of Tech-Long USA. Zhang established the Commerce, Calif.-based operation in June 2012.
“The Tech-Long USA headquarters will continue to be in Commerce,” Boss told Plastics News. He added the company plans to open an East Coast service operation, and officials are looking for locations right now.
Both Boss and Zhang will report to Tech-Long China Chairman Zhang Songming.
Tech-Long said Boss' appointment represents its commitment to continuing expansion into the liquid packaging markets, including Canada, the United States, Mexico and South America.
“[Boss] will play a key role in our continuing long-term commitment to customer service and support as well as our aggressive growth plans in the Americas,” Zhang Songming said in a release.
The Guangzhou-based company will exhibit at NPE 2015 (Booth S32001) next month, introducing the CPX Generation 5 blow molding machine, which offers high production speed of up to 2,400 bottles per hour, per cavity at what the company calls “very competitive price points.”
Tech-Long is also forming a partnership with Unique Injection Molding Systems Co. Ltd., a supplier of preform injection molding machinery, systems, molds, robotics and auxiliary equipment.
Together with Unique, Tech-Long supplies machinery to the beverage and non-beverage filling and packaging industries.
Tech-Long has 2,300 production lines operating in more than 80 countries.
The publicly listed firm reported sales of 896.6 million yuan ($143.6 million) in the 2013 fiscal year, up 26.9 percent from the previous year. However, net profit tumbled 37.3 percent to 20.4 million yuan ($3.2 million), due to increased investment as well as discounted prices.
In the first nine months of 2014, Tech-Long continued to grow its sales by 13.8 percent to 694.5 million yuan ($111.2 million), but net profit continued to slide 25.7 percent to 10.9 million yuan ($1.7 million).