TriMas President and CEO Thomas Amato is stepping down after an eight-year tenure marked by the revival of a key division, several divestitures and expansions into new product offerings.
Amato will remain with the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company through June 30 and maintain the CEO role until then, or until a successor is appointed, the company announced Jan. 6. He will not stand for re-election to the company's board.
Board Chair Herbert Parker called Amato a "valued leader" who helped build "a more focused company with a strong team," according to a news release.
"The board and Tom believe now is the right time to undertake a search for Tom's successor to lead the company through its next chapter of growth and value creation," Parker said in the release.
TriMas, whose largest business segment is in packaging, saw its stock value fall more than 4 percent to just under $23 per share as of late on Jan. 6. That share price is nearly 30 percent higher than in July 2016 when Amato took the helm.
The company is No. 36 in Plastics News' most recent ranking of North American injection molders with $300 million in sales in the region. The company recently opened a new plant in Haining, China. In 2023, it purchased Netherlands-based injection molder Aarts Packaging and in 2022 it boosted its presence in medical molding with the acquisition of Intertech Plastics LLC of Denver.
Amato, who had a base salary of $750,000 as of April 2023, will receive a $1.6 million cash severance as part of a transition and separation agreement with the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additionally, Amato will receive a base salary for any special adviser service equal to half his CEO base salary rate, plus a truncated 2025 equity award including $600,000 in three-year time-restricted stock units and $900,000 in three-year performance-based target performance stock units.
Amato was credited with turning around the company's aerospace division and "transforming TriMas' business portfolio," the release said. One recent example is the company's decision to exit the oil and gas market in a bid to shore up revenue and curb a profit crash.
TriMas has approximately 3,400 employees in 13 countries.
"It has been an honor for me to have led a company with such outstanding businesses over the past several years, and I thank the board and our leadership teams for their commitment along this journey," Amato said in the release. "I am confident that TriMas is well positioned for future growth as we continue to focus our portfolio and align our businesses with customer demand."