Andy Greenlee, who led auto supplier U.S. Farathane LLC from a $20 million injection molder into a global business with $1 billion in annual sales, is stepping down from his positions as president and CEO, but will remain with the company as chairman.
His replacement at the Auburn Hills, Mich., company, David Wiskel, is the former leader of another plastics auto parts maker, Windsor, Ontario-based Plasman Group, where he led growth for 18 years.
"The past three decades with USF have been wonderful and I look forward to working closely with Dave as he leads USF into the future as our new CEO," Greenlee said in a March 1 news release.
The management change comes nearly a year after private equity firm Atlas Holdings LLC purchased U.S. Farathane from another investment group, Gores Group.
"When we partnered with Atlas Holdings last year, my goal was to ensure USF was well positioned for future success when it came time to pass the baton to my successor," Greenlee said.
USF comes in at No. 6 in Plastics News' ranking of North American injection molders with $900 million in sales in the region in 2022. It operates 11 plants in the U.S., Mexico and China.
USF has injection molding, compression molding and extrusion, and offers design, tooling and engineering services. It was PN's Processor of the Year in 2005.
USF also named Scott Hazlett its chief operating officer and added auto industry veterans Fritz Henderson and Gurminder Bedi to its board.
Wiskel's experience at Plasman was similar to Greenlee's at USF. Plasman, an injection molder of bumper fascia, grilles, exterior trim and other large parts, has grown from $100 million to about $1 billion in sales during his time there.
It was No. 33 in the most recent ranking of injection molders, with $330 million in sales. It also was No. 22 among North American mold makers, with $40 million in sales.
The Plasman name was adopted in 2020 when the company combined all of its 17 global operations — including A-Brite Plating, A.P. Plasman, Build-A-Mold, Plastal and Thermotech — under a single name.
It was acquired by private equity's MiddleGround Capital Group in 2021.