Fish sets sights on future acquisitions, growth strategy

Whenever Glenn Fish is asked about any of his accomplishments, he is quick to note that it's all a combined effort.

"It's really a team effort, and it's really great to be part of this team," the executive vice president and chief financial officer said in May when asked about his career highlights. "The reflection that I am a nominee and now a finalist is very much a reflection of the collective efforts of people at Tekni-Plex, not the CFO."

Winner of Plastics News' CFO of the Year for 2017, Fish said he always had an interest in manufacturing, "even going back to kind of my developing career days where I worked the night shift in a plastics factory."

"I just felt like the ability to manufacture — see the outcome of a manufactured product each and every day — was something that, from an early-on stage in my career development, I always took pride in that and being part of that product manufactured and my efforts going into that," he said.

Fish, 49, added that his early experiences in manufacturing were "quite impressionable" on him and led to his long career.

"In every job that I've had, I kind of think that you barely scratch the surface, and there is always opportunity for improving a product's quality, the cost to manufacture the product, the utility of the product, ideas for improvements or new products," Fish said. "Even in a financial leadership or an overall leadership role, your efforts touch on all the attributes of those levers."

Fish graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in accountancy and from DePaul University with his master's degree in finance. He is also a certified management accountant and certified public accountant.

In the mid-1990s, Fish joined Lawson Mardon Packaging in Bellwood, Ill. — acquired by Alcan Inc. in 2000 — as plant controller and then vice president of finance, vice president of strategy and business development and general manager. In early 2009, Fish became senior vice president and chief financial officer of Portola Packaging Inc., of Naperville, Ill.

"When I joined Portola, they were bankrupt, just coming out of bankruptcy," Fish said. "It was a turnaround project, really, with the management team. Just under five years later, we sold that business to Silgan [Holdings Inc.] in late 2013."

Then Fish joined Tekni-Plex Inc., of Wayne, Pa., in February 2014, right after private equity firm American Securities LLC acquired the company. With 2,700 employees worldwide, Tekni-Plex celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

"The company started in 1967, but it has roots that predate 1967," Fish said. "But 1967 is the name Tekni-Plex came to be, and it was a holding company formed to acquire other plastics-related manufacturing businesses.

"Tekni-Plex is a global leader in advanced plastic and rubber technology developing and manufacturing innovative packaging materials, medical compounds and precision-crafted medical tubing solutions for some of the most well-known names in medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, household and industrial, and food and beverage markets," Fish added.

Since joining Tekni-Plex, Fish has helped lead the company with five major acquisitions: Tech-Seal Products Inc. of Triadelphia, W.Va., in August 2014; Ghiya Extrusions Pvt. Ltd., of Ahmedabad, India, in February 2015; Gallazzi, of Gallarate, Italy, in May 2015; Sancap Liner Technology Inc., of Alliance, Ohio, in April 2016; and Bruna Seals LLC, of Doral, Fla., in May 2017.

Tekni-Plex CEO Paul Young, who nominated Fish, said that, in addition to the acquisitions, the company has improved overall growth and profitability trajectory.

"That speaks to the effort expended by Glenn and his team to find the right type of acquisition targets for our company," Young said in his nomination. "The groundwork they have laid will enable us to replicate our acquisition strategy as we identify future targets."

In his nomination, Fish said his responsibilities include the traditional CFO functions of managing accounting, treasury, tax, information technology, procurement, and mergers and acquisitions.

Looking ahead, the company is building a new plant in China, which will eventually replace its current plant. The grand opening is slated for late 2017, Fish said.

"We're just getting started and we're just scratching the surface, and there's a hell of a lot more we can do with this business here," he said. "I'm looking forward to being part of that continuing into the future here. I really have a lot of enthusiasm for the Tekni-Plex business and the people I work with here. And I feel like a lot of us share the same opinions."

Fish added that Tekni-Plex is also aiming to upgrade its dispensing manufacturing equipment and footprint in the U.S. this year.

"We've got a number of initiatives in place to really provide more solutions to our customers to continue to provide better customer service and quality products across our business units," he said.

Aside from his busy work life, Fish has five children: Ryan, 22; Lauren, 18; Kyle, 15; Carter, 6; and Lilah, 3. He has been married to his wife, Josephine, for 10 years.

When he finds some spare time, Fish said he loves "anything related to water": boating, fishing, watercrafts and watersports. "My grandparents lived on a lake in far-northwest Wisconsin," he said.

"I feel like, while it's a great honor to have [the CFO of the Year nomination], there's a lot that goes into the performance of my teams and the company as a whole," Fish said. "Yeah, there is some reflection of me being in the leadership role, but I mean, this is a team effort. The fact that you have highlighted it to be being a finalist, to me, that just says a lot of good things about the company."

Tekni-Plex has 30 locations around the world, with annual sales of approximately $700 million.