Hires & promotions

Terry Hughes has been named district sales manager for Nucor Steel Connecticut. He worked in key positions for 18 years for Bekaert Corporation, most recently as director of North American Procurement. Prior to that he was operations manager for Arcelor Corporation for 18 years. He holds a degree in materials engineering from Youngstown State University and an MBA in marketing from Kent State University. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nucor Corp. is the largest U.S. steel producer.

Hitachi Cable America Inc. (HCA) has named Joe Barry as COO of the Performance Cable Systems and Materials (PCSM) division based in Manchester, New Hampshire. He has decades of experience leading various engineering and business functions in well-known wire and cable manufacturing companies. He worked most recently as the CEO at Marmon Holdings, was president and general manager of Comtran Cable LLC, and held multiple senior positions at Belden Inc. He succeeds Tom Artinian, who served in that position for just two years and has since taken over as COO and president for the Automotive Products Division for both the Indiana and Mexico divisions. Hitachi Cable America Inc. (HCA)—which on Jan. 4, 2023, will become Proterial Cable America, Inc.—is a leading manufacturer of copper and fiber optic communication cables for the telecom industry.

Omni Cable, LLC has named Dan Van Belle as Northeast Regional Vice President, a new position that will see him responsible for the company’s Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia branches. He has more than 25 years of industry experience. He began his career with Houston Wire & Cable (HWC) in sales. During his tenure there, he served as the Charlotte regional manager, then was promoted to Southeast regional vice president. HWC was acquired by OmniCable in 2021. Based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, OmniCable is redistributor of electrical wire and cable and related services.

Aaron Overmann has been named leader tactical buyers North America for Bridon-Bekaert The Ropes Group. He started with the company as a tactical buyer in July 2021. He previously was a strategic sourcing manager at DBi Services, Inc., and prior to that was a supply chain specialist for MTF Biologics for 16 years. Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group, a division of Bekaert, is a premier supplier of mission-critical advanced cords and ropes.

OTECH Corporation finalized some key management changes following the Oct. 1 passing of Jack O’Donnell, who started the company in 1999 and served as president and CEO. Executive Vice President of Operations and Acting CEO Jason Page has been named CEO of the organization. The industry veteran has worked for OTECH for 20 years, with 10 years of leadership roles. Vice President Strategic & Business Development and Acting President Ted Irvine has been named president of OTECH. He joined the company in 2017 and has 35 years of plastics experience in key account sales, management, executive leadership and marketing. Based in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, OTECH Corporation develops, designs and custom manufactures high-quality specialty PVC compounds, thermoplastic elastomers and alloys used in electrical wire and cable.

Cooper Runzel has been promoted to director of manufacturing for Lake Cable LLC. He joined the company as a line operator in 2008, and was promoted to maintenance technician, quality technician, process technician, plant manager, corporate operations manager and director of operations. Based in Bensenville, Illinois, Lake Cable LLC manufactures a range of electrical wire and cable.

Service Wire reported two recent positions. Scott Olson has joined the company as director of sales in the Phoenix sales office. He previously was an executive national account manager for MRC Global, which he joined in 2007. He holds a B.S. degree in finance from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Jeff Anderson is a strategic account manager in the Houston sales office. A graduate of Morehouse College and National University, he has more than six years of experience in local and national corporate account management, most recently as national account manager for MRC Global. Based in Culloden, West Virginia, Service Wire Co. supplies electrical wire and cable.

Deborah Musselman has been named digital merchandising manager at Allied Wire & Cable. She joined the company in 2018 as an IT assistant and was promoted to Technical SEO specialist. She holds a degree in mathematics and computer science from Ursinus College. Based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Allied Wire & Cable is an independently operated, specialty manufacturer and distributor of electrical wire, cable, tubing, and accessories.

Obituaries

“Fred” Schwelm, a  a long time industry veteran, died in California just shy of his 95th birthday. He spent more than 50 years in the steel wire business. He worked for J. Gerber & Co., which was then an import agent for Bekaert, rising to the role of president of Bekaert Northeast Sales, a joint venture between Gerber and Bekaert. He was based in New York City except for a period (1950-52) when he was at the J. Gerber offices in Japan.
A German refugee, Hartoch arrived penniless with his family in New York a year after witnessing the atrocities of Kristallnacht. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and then night school in business administration at City College.
Hartoch was respected by all who knew him for his sales prowess and technical knowledge of steel wire. Despite some harsh years, he almost always met his sales and profit budget figures, and was recognized by his colleagues. He taught his salespeople all aspects of ferrous wire, but more importantly, about the ethics of doing business. He prompted his sales staff to think and solve problems rather than just giving them the answers to their questions. He will be remembered for his kindness, honesty, sense of humor and keen sense of history and world events.

Anthony “Tony” Dolce, the founder of T&T Marketing, died Oct. 29 in Hackettstown, New Jersey, at age 94. In 1988, he retired from BP Performance Polymers as vice president of sales and marketing, then the next year launched T&T Marketing. He was joined by son-in-law Tom Jordan, and the two men built the company into a leading, dedicated wire and cable distributor of resins and polymers in North America. Dolce, who was part of the business for 25 years before retiring at age 85, said that those years were the best of his career. T&T Marketing was bought by M. Holland Company in 2017.
Prior to T&T, Dolce held positions with British Petroleum as vice president of sales and Reichold Chemicals as vice president of sales and sales manager. Earlier in his career, he held process engineering and chemist positions with Reynolds Metals, Kaiser Aluminum, and U.S. Rubber. He held a degree in chemistry from Providence College. The WAI Life Member was a 2008 recipient of the WCMA Distinguished Career Award.
Dolce had been predeceased by Theresa, his wife of 70 years, earlier in October. Survivors include three daughters: Laura Jordan, Anne Dolce and Marie Dolce; two grandchildren; and one great grandchild.