Board chairman F. Jack Liebau Jr. showed some support for McGaugh in the same release.
“Mike has been the driver of our transformation efforts for four and a half years as our CEO. We are a better company, with a better leadership team, than we were when Mike joined us,” Liebau stated. “He built a strong platform for our growth for which we are grateful. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Mike for his valuable leadership and contributions to Myers.”
McGaugh led Myers through several acquisitions, including its January purchase of Texas-based Signature Systems, a company that makes composite ground-protection devices, for $350 million. Under his leadership, the company emphasized growth on the rotomolding side of its business, with acquisitions of Elkhart Plastics, Trilogy Plastics and a Step2 facility in Georgia. It also has injection molding and extrusion.
But in the past year, the company has closed some plants and begun consolidations due to earnings "headwinds."
“I’d like to thank the board of directors for the opportunity to have led Myers Industries over these past several years,” McGaugh stated in the company’s announcement. ‘I believe the company is well positioned for long-term success in the future. I am confident that Dave and the Myers team will continue to drive Myers’ transformation and create shareholder value.”
In the same release, Basque said “I am very pleased to be named interim president and CEO of Myers Industries and look forward to working closely with the Board and our senior leadership team to continue to drive the business forward.”
Basque is 67 and was named vice president in 2020, after a 35-year career with Dow Chemical, where he led several acquisition-integration teams, Myers stated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. McGaugh also was a Dow veteran, spending nearly 25 years with the materials supplier.
“Basque will be provided (a) a monthly stipend of $50,000 during the period in which he serves as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer in addition to his base salary in effect as of September 1, 2024, and (b) a cash bonus of $500,000 upon completion of his interim role, conditioned on his continued employment until that time,” Myers also stated in the SEC filing.
Myers, which makes a variety of sustainable plastic and metal products for industrial, agricultural, automotive, commercial, and consumer markets, employs about 2,400 people.
It is also the largest distributor of tools, equipment and supplies for the tire, wheel, and under-vehicle service industry in the United States, according to its website.
