Compounding firm Star Plastics has named Daniel McMullen its new CEO.
McMullen joined Ravenswood, W.Va.-based Star in 2022 as vice president of finance and corporate development. He had served as interim CEO since September 2023, when Don Wiseman exited to take a similar position with Teknor Apex Co.
In a Jan. 5 news release, Carr Preston of Star owner Akoya Capital Partners said that McMullen "brings over 30 years of management, leadership and product development to this role."
"[McMullen] also has experience fostering cultures of innovation and growth and solid experience in his prior roles at Star," added Preston, who's also a member of Star's board of directors.
Earlier in his career, McMullen co-founded the business that became CMC Materials Inc., an Illinois-based supplier to the semiconductor industry. He's also served as vice president of RRTC Inc. and Rippey Corp. and held various director-level positions for Boston-based materials supplier Cabot Corp.
"In the past two years, Star Plastics has made significant investments in new technologies and capabilities that have it well positioned for future growth," McMullen said in the release. "As a solution provider in sustainable materials, we anticipate a growing need for our reNova recycled-content compounds.
"What started as a recycling company 35 years ago has now grown into a superior provider of custom compounds based on prime and recycled engineering-grade thermoplastic resins," he added.
Star Plastics does compounding work in polycarbonate, ABS and other engineering resins, with a focus on flame-retardant grades. In addition to custom compounding, the firm also offers toll compounding services. Star operates two plants in West Virginia and also has licensing and production partnerships in China.
In a recent interview with Plastics News, McMullen said that Star spent "a considerable amount of time and effort" in 2023 providing skills training for employees and bringing new equipment online that expands both production capacity and capabilities.
Looking to 2024, he said that Star "has an improved outlook" for the first quarter and "is anticipating a more robust rebound" and return to normal levels of demand beginning in the second quarter.