Lehigh Technologies Adds Depth to Strategic Tire and Industrial Rubber Team

ATLANTA, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Lehigh Technologies, a manufacturer of sustainable ultra fine rubber powders, announced today the addition of David R. O'Brien as major account manager for the tire and industrial rubber team. His appointment furthers the company's depth in the tire and rubber industry, complementing existing expertise.  O'Brien joins the existing team of Kedar Murthy, vice president and general manager, and Frank Papp, technical manager and accomplished rubber chemist.  With the highly regarded and credentialed team in place, Lehigh is well positioned to continue advancing the fundamental science underlying the use of powders in rubber compounds, putting more recycled rubber to work.

According to the most recent data from the Rubber Manufactures Association (RMA), there are approximately 100 million stockpiled scrap tires today. "The RMA has made tremendous progress in reducing the amount of scrap tires, but there remains more work to do. Our team is committed to helping solve this environmental challenge by turning this highly engineered material into usable ultra fine, high quality sustainable rubber powder.  We can go beyond that and benefit the environment by working with the industry to incorporate a greater percentage of recycled rubber in new tires. It's my job to educate customers on the economic and environmental benefits of that, while maintaining maximum tire performance," said O'Brien.

O'Brien has a 30 year history within the rubber industry, with an expertise in high value plasticisers, rubber lubricants, chemical dispersions and custom-mixed rubber compounds. A well known industry insider by tire and industrial rubber manufacturers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, O'Brien has served as Chairman of the Southern Rubber Group and was that organization's Member of the Year in 1996. He also has held the position of Chair of the American Chemical Society's Rubber Division and is currently on its Steering Committee. O'Brien holds a degree in chemistry from Mississippi State University.

"David adds depth to our tire and industrial rubber team and will help us further our mission of getting more recycled content in the tire and industrial rubber markets," said Dr. Alan Barton, chief executive officer of Lehigh Technologies. "He truly understands the meaning of value, service, quality and reliability and that is reflected in his impressive industry relationships. David works closely with our technical team, representing the customer's interests in the research and development process. Our customers will benefit greatly from his industry knowledge and commitment to the value of utilizing recycled material in rubber."

Lehigh Technologies' proprietary manufacturing process takes tire and other rubber material and "upcycles" it into micron-scale, high quality, sustainable powders that are compatible with customers' existing formulations, making it easy to integrate into new or existing products. These powders not only help companies achieve sustainability goals, but can also improve performance attributes such as, water resistance, energy savings and flexibility, while delivering significant costs savings over virgin raw materials.

ABOUT LEHIGH TECHNOLOGIES

Lehigh Technologies is a leading green materials manufacturer that turns end-of-life tire materials and other rubber products into sustainable powders that can be used in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. Lehigh Technologies is a World Economic Forum 2010 recipient of The Technology Pioneer Award for its visionary leadership and transformational technology. Headquartered in Tucker, GA, Lehigh Technologies is privately held and backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures and NGP Energy Technology Partners. For more information, please visit www.lehightechnologies.com.

SOURCE Lehigh Technologies