There's been a change at the top for materials maker Chroma Color Corp.
On July 19, Shruti Singhal was named CEO of McHenry, Ill.-based Chroma. In that role, he'll be replacing Tom Bolger, who's retiring after leading the firm for 16 years.
In a July 21 phone interview, Singhal said that Chroma, a maker of color and additive concentrates for multiple end markets, had grown and made acquisitions under Bolger's leadership.
"You can only do that if you have a strong foundation," he said.
Singhal added in a news release: "I am very excited to join and lead this dynamic organization at a time of great opportunity with significant options for accelerating our growth. My family and I are also very pleased to return to our home near Philadelphia and look forward to working with our customers and our team, to continue building a unique and world-class color company," he added.
Singhal also thanked Bolger for "his leadership over the years to build a strong and profitable company."
Bolger said in the release that when he decided to work on a transition from his role as CEO in early 2020, he and Chroma's board agreed to take time with the process "to ensure that we identified the best new leader for the great company we have been building."
"I could not be more pleased that Shruti has agreed to join the company as its new CEO to lead Chroma in its next stage of growth," Bolger said.
Bolger added July 21 that Chroma's goal in finding a new CEO was to find a candidate with "experience and expertise."
"Shruti didn't need a lot of runway to get started," he said. "He knows a lot of our customers and suppliers."
Bolger will remain with Chroma through the end of the year to help with the transition process.
Chroma Chairman George Abd added that the firm "has been fortunate to have Tom Bolger's leadership throughout our investment, which has seen the company deliver record-breaking growth, the completion of seven acquisitions and the integration of those businesses, which has expanded Chroma's footprint and broadened offerings to our customers."
Abd also said that Singhal "has a strong track record of driving growth, an exceptional customer experience and operational excellence in multiple global companies."
Singhal has more than 25 years of industry experience and is joining Chroma after a three-year stint with DSM Engineering Plastics, a unit of Dutch materials firm Royal DSM. His previous career stops also include Dow Inc., Ashland Inc. and Rohm & Haas.
Prior to leading Chroma, Bolger spent 10 years with PolyOne Corp. and its predecessor, M.A. Hanna Co. His plastics career actually began with Chroma as a sales rep in 1983. Even before that, Bolger had worked in Chroma's production operations during breaks from college beginning in 1979.
Bolger recalled that Chroma founder Robert Swain — a Plastics Hall of Fame member who died in 2019 — once said to him, "You know how we make our materials; how about selling them?"
Chroma's most recent acquisition came last month when it acquired Color Resource LLC, a maker of color concentrates based in Leominster, Mass. The Color Resource deal is the third in the last 18 months for Chroma and the firm's fifth since mid-2018, when investment firm Arsenal Capital Partners combined Chroma with materials firms Carolina Color, Breen Color Concentrates and Breen's Hudson Color unit.
In January 2020, Chroma bought fellow color concentrate maker Plastics Color Corp. of Calumet City, Ill. Chroma then added compounder and dye maker Epolin Chemicals LLC of Newark, N.J., in June 2020.
Singhal said that Chroma will continue to look at acquisitions that are "complementary to our technology."
He added that Chroma will continue to have a focus on sustainability. "We already have some good programs in place and will look at how to bring more to light from a marketing and customer perspective," Singhal said.