Excel Polymers is proud to announce the following five new hires to its growing company:

James E. Staargaard, Vice President-Commercial Operations (Transportation)

With more than 16 years in the advanced materials and plastics industries, James E. Staargaard was appointed to vice president-Commercial Operations (Transportation) for Excel Polymers. His global automotive, commercial and profit and loss experiences will benefit Excel in its transportation segment of the core compounding business. Prior to his appointment, Staargaard was the global product manager for the ABS/ASA business in the automotive market for General Electric's advanced materials. He began his career as a sales representative in the Silicones and Urethanes Intermediates Division of the Union Carbide Corporation. He earned his bachelor's degree in polymer sciences from Penn State University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Michael A. Garratt, Vice President- Commercial Operations (Industrial)

Michael A. Garratt joined Excel Polymers as the vice president-Commercial Operations (Industrial). In his new role, Garratt will be responsible for the profit and loss aspects of Excel's industrial core compounding business segment. Prior to this appointment, he was the commercial manager in the European, Middle Eastern and African territories for DuPont Dow Elastomers (DDE) SA. He also served as the managing director for DDE's German unit and director of the unit in Switzerland. Garratt has a bachelor's degree in applied chemistry from McMaster University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Toronto.

Henry Ashton, Ph.D., Director Product Technology

With more than 20 years of polymer experience, Henry Ashton, Ph. D., is Excel Polymers new director of Product Technology. He is working with the sales organization to create new products to facilitate entering new markets. His expertise includes polymerization of rubber, plastics, minerals and additives. He holds numerous patents and has a proven track record of using Six Sigma processes to facilitate new product development. Prior to joining Excel Polymers, Ashton was the director of industrial technology at Huber Engineering Materials and held several positions with GE specialty chemicals. Ashton holds a Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from the National University of Ireland.

Johnson Thomas, Ph. D., Materials Technologist

Johnson Thomas, Ph.D., is the new Materials Technologist for Excel Polymers. Prior to this position, he worked at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. He has been in the forefront of science on a diverse range of projects, which include synthesis of polysiloxanes for Antifouling/Fouling release coatings, formulation of coatings from these polymers and synthesis of novel organic and conducting materials for Spintronics applications (Funded by DARPA). Thomas also served as a post doctoral fellow at the Laboratoire De Chemie Des Polymeres organiques, CNRS-ENSCPB, in Bordeaux, France, where he worked on initiator systems for PVC polymerization. He also was the research associate at the National University of Singapore. He holds a doctorate degree in chemistry specializing in polymer science and a master's degree in pure chemistry from the Mahatma Gandhi University in India.

Tony Zhang, Sales Manager

Tony Zhang was appointed as Sales Manager of the EXLP Global (Shanghai) Co., LTD subsidiary. Zhang is responsible for selling products from Excel's operation in Shanghai, which serves the rubber roller market and provides custom mixing capabilities for the fast growing Chinese market. Zhang joins Excel after holding sales and manufacturing positions with Kinsang Chemical and the Haier Group. He earned a degree in physics from the Qingdao Institute of Chemical Technology.

© 2006 EXCEL Polymers LLC.