Kevin N. Pageau, owner and president of International Marketing Alliance, Novi, Michigan, and a contributor to the SPE Automotive Division Innovation Awards program, has been named the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE®). For over 40 years, Pageau has led key advancements in the automotive plastics industry including being an early pioneer in the application of CAE technologies – Pageau ran GE Plastics’ first 3D finite element moldflow analysis and provided technical analysis of numerous leading-edge applications. He also developed one of the first warp analysis tools, where the melt flow angle for each element was calculated and used to predict fiber orientation in glass-filled materials – leading to additional roles at GE as project engineer, business development specialist and business development manager. As director of engineering at Plastics Engineering & Technical Services (PETS), he developed proprietary methods, computer programs and algorithms to optimize the analysis of hot and cold runner systems for complex automotive molds, as well as implementing some of the first commercial “mold cooling” analysis projects.
Pageau also has led a team of tooling engineers, project engineers and quality engineers in the development of decorative plastics molds and processes as director of advanced engineering at Dott Industries. As a manufacturer’s representative at Mayne-McKenney, he built significant business for principals in the areas of satellite radio antennas, engineered foam and injection molding.
Pageau joined International Marketing Alliance (IMA) in 2003 and helped build it into a leading sales and marketing firm for automotive components. IMA represents seven domestic and international companies, with product areas including injection molding, decorative plastics of all types, engineered foam, LED lighting systems and advanced seat comfort systems, generating revenues of approximately $100 million annually.
His involvement in SPE goes back to his GE Plastics days, where he was on the development team that won an SPE award for the Chrysler 1990 Eagle Premier Azdel bolster. He became active in the Automotive Division in 1992 as newsletter editor, where he upgraded the quality of the newsletter, and increased ad revenue to make the newsletter break even for the first time in years. He then held other positions in the Automotive Division leadership including secretary, treasurer, vice-chair and chairman. He was recognized as an Honored Service member of SPE in 2004.
The SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition and Gala has grown over the years to become known as the “Academy Awards of the Automotive Industry” with Pageau’s leadership. In addition to being awards program chair for a few years, he has managed and streamlined the nomination and judging process, worked with the team to upgrade the audio-visual and other program features and reduced the “run of show” time to two hours, while still recognizing all winners and finalists in a professional event. He continues to manage the nomination and judging process, write the script for the show and produce the presentation files for the event.
His formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan.
“I am humbled and grateful to be honored with the SPE Automotive Division Lifetime Achievement award and especially thankful to my friends in the industry and to my family for their incredible support over the years,” said Pageau.
“Kevin is the smartest guy I know in this industry,” said Frederick Deans, P.E. owner, Allied Composites Technology and SPE Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2015. “Many of the plastics tooling analysis programs used in industry today are a result of Kevin’s ingenuity.”
“Kevin’s long career in automotive plastics has been filled with many significant achievements, both technically and commercially,” said Mark Lapain, senior business development manager at Advanced Composites and SPE Lifetime Achievement Award chair. “Kevin’s involvement in SPE, where he served as the automotive division chairman and as a key organizer for the Innovation Awards, are truly noteworthy,” continued Lapain. “The SPE Automotive Innovation Awards would not be the same without Kevin’s many contributions, which date back to the early 1990s.”
“I greatly appreciate Kevin’s leadership and support enhancing the SPE Automotive Innovations Awards program over the years,” said Jeffrey Helms, global automotive director, Celanese and SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala chair. “Honoring Kevin with our 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award will be a highlight of this year’s event.”
Pageau will be presented with the SPE Automotive Div. Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala at Burton Manor in Livonia, Michigan, Nov. 8, 2023. The evening begins with a VIP cocktail reception at 4 p.m. sponsored by Celanese Corporation. At 4:30 p.m. the main exhibit area opens for general admission and guests can review this year’s Automotive Innovation Awards nominations and enjoy the vehicles on display. Dinner will begin at 6:15 p.m. and the awards program will last from 7-9 p.m. For those who wish to extend merrymaking and networking activities, the ever-popular Afterglow – also sponsored by Celanese – runs from 9-11 p.m.
For more information, visit https://speautomotive.com/innovation-awards-competition-and-gala/.
