Sappi North America Combines Packaging and Specialties Businesses, Announces Leadership Changes

BOSTON, May 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of veteran Vice President and Casting and Release Paper Managing Director Tom Collins' announcement of his retirement, Sappi North America, leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has announced the combination of two key business units, Packaging and Release, and three notable promotions.

Tom Collins leaves the paper industry and Sappi's Release Business after a successful career spanning over four decades. Since joining the Lead Team in 2013, the Release Business has improved its operational efficiencies and expanded its offerings far beyond its traditional business, including the introduction of the Neoterix™ ST bacteria-resistant products. 

With Collins' departure, formerly the Vice President of the Coated Paper & Packaging business, Deece Hannigan will now serve as the Vice President for the newly expanded Packaging and Specialties Business. In his new role, Deece will maintain his leadership of the Packaging, Supply Chain and Inside Sales groups, while assuming accountability for the Specialties Business, including Release. A graduate of the North Carolina State University, Deece joined Sappi in 1988 and has held a number of positions in Sales Management, Marketing and Technical Specialties.

Rick Skoglund, formerly Director, Coated Sheet Grades, will join the Lead Team as Vice President, Coated Business. He will be responsible for the growth of the Coated Graphics Business. Rick has held a number of marketing and brand management roles with increasing responsibility at several companies, including Welch's, High Liner Foods and then Sappi when he joined the company in early 2015. Rick has a B.S. from Union College, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Beth Cormier, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation, expands her responsibilities to include Coated Paper, Packaging and Specialties Paper to capture efficiencies and more closely align research and development capabilities regionally and globally. Beth has over 30 years with the company in R&D and marketing roles, and has been leading the R&D group since 2007. Beth has a B.S. in Engineering Physics from University of Maine and a MBA from Boston University.

"While we're sad to see Tom go, we're thankful for the 25 years of dedication, innovation and leadership he gave us," said Mark Gardner, President and CEO of Sappi North America. "Tom's contribution has helped us position ourselves to grow and expand. The future is exciting, and we are confident that this combination of our Release and Packaging businesses, together with the increased leadership of Deece, Rick and Beth, will only make it stronger."

About Sappi North America
Sappi North America, headquartered in Boston, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses – high quality Coated Printing Papers, Specialised Cellulose, Release Papers and Specialty Packaging – is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high quality Coated Printing Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Specialised Cellulose used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods, and one of the world's leading suppliers of Release Papers with our Ultracast, PolyEX, Classics and Neoterix lines for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Our Specialty Packaging products, such as LusterPrint and LusterCote, represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 150 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com.

SOURCE Sappi North America

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