It's a Fiesta® for New President of The Homer Laughlin China Company, Liz McIlvain

NEWELL, W.Va., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- For a company that's known for making every meal a festive, colorful occasion, The Homer Laughlin China Company™, maker of Fiesta® Dinnerware, has a festive occasion of its own to celebrate. Elizabeth McIlvain, a fourth-generation owner of the company, was appointed President of the 142-year-old privately owned business. She will succeed her brother, Joseph Wells III, who worked at Homer Laughlin for 50 years.

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Wells, who will now serve as Chairman of the Board, says, "Liz has been at my side for many years helping me manage day-to-day operations; this move gives title to what she does every day at Homer Laughlin. Our father would have been proud to see the company leadership transitioning this way."

In her new position, McIlvain will oversee all operations of the company's retail and commercial divisions, as well as Hall China, which was acquired by Homer Laughlin in 2010.

McIlvain is the first female President the company has seen since its inception in 1871. You might say that dinnerware is in her blood. McIlvain's great grandfather, William Edwin Wells (along with financial partner Louis I. Aaron), bought the business from founding brothers Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin in 1897. When W.E. Wells retired, he was succeeded by his eldest son (and McIlvain's grandfather), Joseph M. Wells, Sr. J.M. Wells retired in 1959 and his son Joe Wells, Jr. (McIlvain's father), took over the reins. He retired in 1986; Joseph Wells III was elected President in 2002.

But the impressive lineage doesn't stop there. McIlvain's eldest daughter, Katie McIlvain, is learning the ropes as an integral part of the Fiesta Dinnerware sales team.

McIlvain says about the future of the company, "We will continue to write the history of the dinnerware category. HLC is in its second century and our mission remains true – leadership and innovation in the manufacture of quality lead-free china for the retail and commercial markets."

Homer Laughlin is the largest remaining domestic tableware manufacturer in the United States. McIlvain and the entire Wells family remain true to the company's history of providing jobs here in America, employing more than 850 people at its mile-long factory in Newell, West Virginia.

For additional information, please visit www.hlchina.com and www.homerlaughlin.com.

SOURCE The Homer Laughlin China Company