Names in the news: Victor Baxt, Ferromatik Milacron India, Davis-Standard, Argotech, SAS Automation

Victor J. Baxt , who worked at custom compounder Teknor Apex for 66 years, died on October 7 at the age of 95. Baxt was employed at the business until shortly before his death, becoming chairman in 2003, following the death of Norman Fain, son of Alfred A. Fain, who founded the business in 1924. In addition to his business experience, Baxt was esteemed in his native Rhode Island as a philanthropist and civic leader. Baxt joined the company that would become Teknor Apex in 1946 as a college friend of Norman M. Fain. The company started production of its first plastics products-vinyl compounds-in 1949. Baxt served on the board of trustees of Miriam Hospital in Providence, RI and on many committees for that institution, being honored as its Person of the Year in 2006. A longtime supporter of the University of Rhode Island (URI), he established an endowed scholarship for undergraduate students of chemistry and chemical engineering, founded the Victor Baxt Chair in Polymer Engineering, and supported construction of new facilities at the university, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2011. He was an active member of the Jewish community in Providence, serving on the boards of a number of organizations. A chemist, Baxt received his BS degree from URI and an MS degree from Duke University. He is survived by his wife Gussie, two sons, three grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.

Ferromatik Milacron India Private Ltd. (FMIPL; Ahmedabad, India) appointed Shirish Divgi to the role of managing director. Divgi has been with FMIPL for more than 16 years, most recently serving in the position of COO. Established in 1995, FMIPL offers a full range of injection molding machines from 50-3000 tons, with capacity to manufacture 1500 machines annually. The company has PAN India Sales & Service offices in major cities and industrial towns throughout the country. It is accredited to the Export House Status and is an ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified company adhering to world-class quality standards.

Chetan Balsara has joined extrusion equipment technology supplier Davis-Standard as vice president and chief information officer. Balsara comes to Davis-Standard from Buckeye Partners (Houston, TX), where he was the director of application services. Prior to that position, he was the senior director of IT at J.B. Poindexter and Co. (Houston, TX), and tech and global infrastructure manager for Wilbur-Ellis (Seattle, WA). Sekaran Murugaiah has joined Davis-Standard as VP of business development for Asia-Pacific. Murugaiah will lead the sales, service and installation organizations within the Asia-Pacific region. He brings 30 years of experience, most recently working as general manager, Asia-Pacific for the Graphics and Reflective division of Avery Dennison. Murugaiah holds a bachelor of engineering degree from London's imperial College of Science and Technology.

Todd Pearson has joined Davis-Standard as VP of global operational excellence. He comes to Davis-Standard from Fortune 1000 industrial electronic equipment company Belden (Suzhou, China), where he was director of operations, Asia-Pacific. He has worked extensively in international assignments where he was responsible for LEAN transformation in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He was also lean manufacturing manager for Chrysler LLC and Danaher Corp. Pearson holds a bachelor's degree in business and an MBA from Michigan

Argotec Inc. (Greenfield, MA), a manufacturer of high-performance polyurethane film and sheet, announced the promotion of Carl Sittard to the newly created position of senior VP of sales and marketing. Sittard will oversee all commercial sales and marketing activities for Argotec, including management of inside and outside sales, new business development, technical product management, customer service and marketing communications. He will report directly to Bruce Wilby, CEO and chairman of Argotec's board.

End-of-arm-tooling supplier >SAS< Automation (Xenia, OH) announced two new sales management personnel for U.S. and China. Nicholas Rigola, has been hired as a sales manager for the U.S., making him responsible for customer service, inside and outside sales of tooling components, custom tools and machinery sales. Dahau Chen has been named sales manager in China, giving him the same responsibilities as Rigola in mainland China.