Mr. Vogel stated that "I am very positive about the direction of the business and moving its leadership more to Elkhart where the core of its operations and customers reside. The Elkhart team has the necessary knowledge, experience and passion to best manage the business and make decisions. As Executive Chairman and the largest shareholder, I believe in the Company's ability to bring value to its customers and the team's ability to execute this plan."
Mr. LaCounte is a co-founder of TekModo LLC. He has extensive experience in developing and marketing new technologies. Mr. LaCounte was the Senior Business Unit Manager of Specialty Markets for Webasto Thermosystems, a wholly-owned division of Webasto, one of the world's largest automotive industry suppliers. At Webasto, he was responsible for the strategy, product development, and commercial conversion of new technologies, where he managed all aspects of the military, industrial/commercial, marine, cargo, and RV market groups. He is credited with introducing a revolutionary cargo heating system to the market from concept through to global distribution. Mr. LaCounte was the Senior Business Unit Manager for Hoff and Associates Company, which supplies advanced computer-aided engineering and design services. Mr. LaCounte was also a managing director of Group Impact, an advanced polymer material science and complex rehologic thermoplastic material development company. Mr. LaCounte holds a Business Degree from Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
Mr. Fenech brings decades of RV industry experience to TekModo. Mr. Fenech started his career in 1989 as the District Manager of Coachmen RV, and went on to become a co-founder of Keystone RV Company in 1996. He held several key management positions with Keystone before ultimately selling the company to Thor Industries in 2001. He continued on at Keystone, and then assumed the role of President of Damon Motor Coach in 2004. In 2010 he took over the presidency of Four Winds International. Both motorhome companies are divisions of Thor Industries. Damon Motor Coach and Four Winds International were merged in 2010 to form Thor Motor Coach, North America's top motorhome manufacturer. After retiring in 2011 from his role as President of Thor Motor Coach, in 2012 Mr. Fenech co-founded Grand Design RV Company, a privately owned RV manufacturer focused on quality workmanship, top-level customer service and innovative products. In October 2016, Winnebago announced that it had agreed to purchase Grand Design for USD $500 million.
As expressed by Mr. Fenech, "I recently invested in TekModo through an investment group that I am part of. The reasons for the investment were the products that they were producing at the time and the products that were in the pipeline for production and/or distribution. I remain excited about these products and feel they could be the next generation of mainstream products for the industries they are targeting."
Mr. Schwartz has over 25 years of paint and chemical experience. He owns and manages numerous entities that manufacture, distribute and apply coatings that primarily revolve around wood components, RV / bus, large truck, and specialty architectural applications. His focus throughout the entities is designing customer specific products that require unique chemical footprints to solve product issues or constraints.
Mr. Schwartz commented "TekModo Industries has an excellent offering of building block technologies that will shape more modern manufacturing methods and vastly improve quality, price and performance for many industries. I am pleased to bring my experience and resources to the equation to value add to the existing portfolio of TekModo products and help create customer driven solutions that are second to none in the building products space."
The Company feels that the newly reconstituted Board, and Elkhart, Indiana based management and Strategic Advisors will create the best opportunity for the business to provide value to its customers and to achieve the future growth and development objectives of TekModo.
On Behalf of the Board of TekModo Industries Inc.
Jacob Vogel, Executive Chairman
About TekModo Industries Inc.
TekModo is an established manufacturer and distributor of advanced composite panels, with existing revenue and a proven history of rapid growth. TekModo's composite panels are currently being used in the walls, roofs, floors and doors of RVs, buses and trailers. The Company has also advanced a number of products with applications in the construction, transportation, industrial filtration and defense industries. With a suite of intellectual property, research and development expertise, leading-edge manufacturing processes and a fully operational manufacturing facility, TekModo is poised to expand its commercial product base to exploit opportunities across a diverse range of industries. More information is available at www.tekmodo.com.
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