July 21, 2025

CARMEN B. MASCIANTONIO TO SUCCEED JOHN J. PAROAS HALLSTAR CEO IN JANUARY 2026

Specialty chemistry supplier Hallstar recently announced leadership succession plans for its global organization. Effective January 1, 2026, John J. Paro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2002, will step away from his CEO role and focus solely on the leadership of Hallstar’s board and of his family enterprise. On that same date, Carmen B. Masciantonio, a 25-year Hallstar veteran currently serving as Chief Operating Officer and President of the Industrial Solutions division, will assume CEO duties, reporting to Paro and the board of directors.

“Carmen is a capable, trusted and much-admired leader and I am excited about the company’s future growth potential under his leadership,” said Paro. “Of course, this announcement comes after years of reflection and planning with family and board members. Given Hallstar’s strength, its foundational culture and core values, the capabilities and integrity of the entire senior leadership team, and the passionate commitment of our global workforce, I have great confidence that Hallstar and I are ready for this transition.”

Masciantonio came to Hallstar in 2001 with the acquisition of RTD Chemical where he had worked since 1995. Starting as a Business Director for Hallstar Personal Care Ingredients, he added sourcing and purchasing responsibilities over the years and, in 2013, was named Vice President, Supply Chain, and General Manager for all product lines, successfully leveraging the synergy between product management and sourcing.

From 2016 to 2018, Masciantonio was the North America Region Vice President responsible for all P&L operations, sales and sourcing in the NA territory. He was appointed President of the company’s Industrial Solutions division in 2019 and COO in 2022. From 2023 to 2024, Carmen also served as Interim President for Hallstar Beauty & Personal Care.

Masciantonio earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University, where he played on the 1982 National Championship football team and was named Academic All-American in 1984. He and his wife live in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and have three grown children and one grandchild.

Chief Human Resources Officer and Board Vice Chair, Ashley P. Gertz, remarked on Carmen’s fitness for the leadership role. “We are fortunate to have someone with Carmen’s wide-ranging experience and industry knowledge prepared to succeed John Paro as CEO, but his dedication to Hallstar’s unique corporate culture is equally important. Carmen consistently demonstrates a passion for people and their professional development, and he knows that the greatest employee opportunities and rewards will be the result of Hallstar’s consistent growth.”

July 14, 2025

Emery Oleochemicals Appoints Min Chong as Group Chief Executive Officer

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (July 14, 2025)

“We are very pleased to welcome Min to Emery Oleochemicals,” said Peter Hawthorne, Chairman of Emery Oleochemicals’ Board of Directors. “His deep industry expertise, customer focus, and visionary leadership will be instrumental in advancing Emery’s mission, enhancing product and service offerings for our customers, and realizing new growth opportunities for our business and people.”

Mr. Chong’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Emery Oleochemicals as the company continues to build on its legacy of delivering sustainable, high-performance solutions to customers worldwide.

“I am excited to be joining Emery Oleochemicals at such a pivotal moment,” said Min Chong. “I look forward to building on the company’s strong foundation in oleochemicals to drive innovation and deliver exceptional value to our customers and stakeholders.”

About Emery Oleochemicals

Founded in 1840 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Emery Oleochemicals is a globally trusted name in high-performance, natural-based chemicals used in a broad range of industries including automotive, building and construction, industrial lubricants, packaging, personal care, and more. As a true pioneer in green chemistry and with a commitment to innovation, quality, and environmental responsibility, Emery continues to advance sustainable solutions. For further information, visit www.emeryoleo.com.

June 1, 2025

Mr. Pauley Joins the Hall of Fame

2 manufacturers, a retailer, a supplier tapped for 2025 Hall of Fame

Vicky Jarrett //Managing Editor//May 29, 2025

HIGH POINT — Four influential industry leaders will be inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame on Oct. 26 during the fall High Point Market.

Joining the current 139 members of the Hall of Fame are Jeffrey S. Child, president, R.C. Willey Home Furnishings; William A. Hinks, founder and chairman, Furniture Mart USA; Stanley F. Pauley, former CEO and chairman, Carpenter Co.; and Norman Waxman, Norman Waxman Consulting.

“This year’s class of inductees represents the core values of superior accomplishments and enduring excellence by two retailers, a manufacturer and a supplier,” said Satya Tiwari, president of the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation board of directors. “Each has impacted the industry with innovation, and each represents high personal character and ethical standards.”

A seven-member selection committee chose this year’s inductees based on their contributions to the growth and development of the home furnishings industry in the U.S.

Jeffrey S. Child has grown the Top 10 retailer fivefold in his 24-year tenure as president of R.C. Willey Home Furnishings, a Berkshire Hathaway company based in Salt Lake City. He began working in the family business when he was 14 waxing the warehouse floors and then working his way up as a sales associate, buyer and merchandise manager where he developed his great love for furnishings. Child is known for sharing strategies for success not just within his company but also with other retailers.

Under Child’s leadership, the retailer has honed a fully integrated supply chain to enhanced its competitive edge. The retailer of furnishings, appliances, electronics and flooring operates 10 stores and three distribution centers in Utah, Nevada, Idaho and California.

William A. Hinks started selling used furniture in 1977, becoming a serial entrepreneur who provides consumers in rural markets with the access to a wide range of brands typically only found in metropolitan stores. The Top 40 Furniture Mart USA operates in six Midwestern states offering furnishings, flooring and design services supported by an in-stock, rapid delivery network.

With a mission to transform “houses into homes, employees into family and customers into friends,” the three-generation family business based in Sioux Falls, S.D., owns most of its 60 storefront and warehouse properties. The Priority Sales program partners with nine Native American Reservations to provide private funding to tribal members, thereby enabling many to buy furniture for the first time.

Stanley F. Pauley became president of Richmond-based Carpenter Co. seven years after E. Rhodes Carpenter was founded in 1950 as a latex foam distributor. Over the next 60-plus years, he built the company into a global vertically integrated manufacturer of polyurethane foams used for upholstery, bedding, carpet cushioning, furniture and fabrication, and other consumer products.

An electrical engineer by education, Pauley had an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and creating innovative foam solutions for Carpenter’s customers. He was known for his attention to every detail of the business, always doing things the right way and keeping an eye on reducing waste, promoting sustainability and practicing circularity. The company employs some 7,000 people at its more than 70 production facilities located around the world.

Norman Waxman has been an advisor and mentor to dozens of manufacturers and retailers. His career began in upholstery sales, expanding into executive management positions for Schnadig Corp., Rowe Furniture Corp., Quaker Fabrics and Corson Furniture Inds.

Waxman was an early adopter of merchandising the whole room through correlated groups and developing brands by expanding market share through the export business and engaging with retail customers as partners. He is known for growing talent through executive development based on a foundation of trust as the right way to conduct business, and he is a socially responsible leader and philanthropist.

https://www.homefurnishingshalloffame.com

May 26, 2025

Crowell and Sullivan Inducted into PFA Hall of Fame

CertiPUR-US Trailblazers Crowell and Sullivan Inducted Into Flexible Polyurethane Hall of Fame

Sullivan is first woman to be honored

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 22, 202

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Michael Crowell and Helen Sullivan were inducted into the Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame at the spring Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) meeting.

They were honored for their work with the CertiPUR-US® foam certification program, which has transformed the flexible polyurethane foam, bedding and furniture industries and significantly contributed to safer and more sustainable homes across America.

Sullivan is the first woman inducted into the hall of fame, marking a historic milestone for the industry.

“Sullivan and Crowell’s leadership of the now highly recognized and respected CertiPUR-US® program has had a positive and lasting impact on the polyurethane foam industry globally. The program is a powerful reflection of our industry’s safety, health and environmental stewardship,” says Russ Batson, executive director of the PFA, which organizes the hall of fame.

Crowell has served as the CertiPUR-US® program’s executive director for the last 10 years. His commitment to maintaining the program’s rigorous standards as a dynamic document, continuously updated to reflect new safety and environmental regulations, has ensured its ongoing relevance. He was honored with the organization’s Outstanding Leadership Award and retired as executive director at the end of 2024.

Crowell’s distinguished career includes more than 40 years of senior management experience in the flexible polyurethane foam industry, spanning technical, manufacturing, sales and marketing positions. Before taking the helm at the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam, the nonprofit that administers the CertiPUR-US program, he served as vice president of marketing and sales for Flexible Foam Products. He previously was vice president of automotive sales for Foamex International (now known as FXI).

Sullivan’s connection with polyurethanes began in 1983 as an advertising and public relations agency account manager for the International Sleep Products Association’s Better Sleep Council. During her decade-long tenure, she was influential in reshaping consumer behavior, shortening the mattress replacement cycle and helping to establish a market for ultra-premium bedding. Her creation of the now-iconic “May Is Better Sleep Month” campaign significantly boosted mattress sales and increased the use of polyurethane foam. The program earned Sullivan two of her three prestigious Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil awards.

In 1995, Sullivan headed a PFA-led marketing initiative aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of flexible polyurethane foam. She later served as communications counsel for the PFA, where she worked with association leadership on complex issues such as fire prevention, crisis communications and flame-retardant policies.

Her most enduring contribution to the polyurethane foam industry came through her work with the CertiPUR-US® program. As brand manager, communications strategist and continuous improvement officer, she helped grow the program from its inception into a globally recognized standard for foam safety and performance.

Sullivan crafted the CertiPUR-US® program’s memorable tagline — “foams that feel good and you can feel good about®” — and developed its distinctive branding and promotional strategies. She also played a key role in designing the supply-chain record-keeping systems that underpin the program’s credibility.

More than 100 foam producers worldwide supply certified foam through the program to more than 1,000 companies and brands, covering a significant share of foam used in the U.S. bedding and upholstered furniture industries.

The Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame recognizes individuals and companies who have significantly contributed to the growth and betterment of the North American flexible polyurethane foam industry. Awardees are nominated by their peers and elected by the PFA awards committee.

www.pfa.org

May 15, 2025

Reflections from the Foam Frontier: A Conversation with John Meehan

Recorded: May 2024
Published: May 2025
Location: PFA Conference, St. Petersburg, FL

At the 2024 Polyurethane Foam Association meeting, we sat down for beers and a candid conversation with industry legend John Meehan, who has now retired after more than 60 years in the Urethane business. What followed was a rich tapestry of stories — from the birth of flexible foam to corporate buyouts, mysterious plant fires, and lessons in loyalty that today’s chemical industry would do well to remember.

Summary of the conversation at the bottom. Listen to the interview here:

Read the transcript in full here:

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From Hand Mixes to Multinationals

Meehan started his journey in 1960 at Olin Research Labs doing hand mixes, balancing part-time work with school. By 1970, he was formulating rigid and flexible foams for Olin, just as the industry was beginning to take shape.

“We had a $30 million TDI plant — the pilot plants today are bigger than that.”

Back then, Olin was a sprawling industrial force — aluminum, brass, Bible paper, even skis — and Meehan had a front-row seat to its dive into isocyanates and polyols.

The Industry Evolves

The interview charts the transition from conglomerate-dominated foam production to the rise of entrepreneurial foam shops, some run by characters straight out of central casting.

“Chuck Moeller ran a multi-million-dollar operation and spat tobacco juice into a Styrofoam cup at board meetings.”

From dealing with General Tire’s foam division to confronting delinquent customers like Joe DiMaggio’s brother, Meehan’s stories illustrate both the grit and absurdity of business in the chemical trenches.

Then vs. Now: Relationship-Driven Sales

One of Meehan’s recurring themes was the loss of human connection in modern sales.

“In those days, you shook a customer’s hand — and that was the deal. Now, they don’t even answer the phone.”

He describes a time when sales was personal: you knew your customers, their kids’ names, their lunch orders. Today, too often, it’s just price-checking and ghosted emails.

The Vanishing Mentor

Meehan laments the decline of in-house R&D and mentorship, once the bedrock of technical sales and innovation.

“We had a ton of people doing real R&D. Now you can’t even find a pilot machine.”

Companies, Meehan argues, have become too focused on short-term returns, cutting staff and gutting their ability to nurture new talent or develop future technologies.

Is There Hope for Small Companies?

Despite the challenges, Meehan believes companies like Everchem have an opportunity to thrive — precisely because they still value relationships and technical integrity.

“You get spec’d in, and you don’t have to worry about the nickel-and-dime pricing.”

His advice: stay close to the customer, focus on being reliable, and speak the language of the people who actually use the product — not just the procurement departments.

Final Thoughts

Meehan’s reflections are more than nostalgia — they’re a call to rebuild the human side of an industry that too often runs on autopilot.

“Sales and marketing is still the best job in the world — if you do it right.”

As he steps away from the business, we’re left with a deep appreciation for the people, processes, and personalities that built the urethanes world — and a reminder that people still matter.