Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery North America, Inc., Suwanee, Georgia, a manufacturer of a wide range of high-precision IM machines for diverse applications, has appointed Naoto Ikeda as president of the company. Ikeda, previously vice president of sales for the past two years, formerly had served as director of corporate strategy, director of business development of all-electric machines at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH in Germany and manager of global sales at Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI) in Japan. With sales and planning experience on three continents, Ikeda brings an international perspective with him to the role of president. Ikeda has steered Sumitomo (SHI) Demag to the highest sales volume of all-electric machines the company has ever seen in the US and Europe.
In addition to this change, John F. Martich III, executive vice president, will be co-managing Sumitomo (SHI) Demag alongside Ikeda. Martich’s 35-year tenure includes positions such as director of quality, director of service, vice president of aftersales, vice president of operations and COO. This change will allow Martich to focus his energies on the customer-oriented business of the company.
Between Ikeda and Martich, there are more than 60 years of knowledge and experience. This new executive management structure will allow Sumitomo (SHI) Demag North America to respond to the fast-changing market quickly and it will afford the company the bandwidth to grow its sales, aftersales and technology offerings.
For more information, visit www.sumitomo-shi-demag.us.
