Entek names Medford president of Entek Manufacturing
Lebanon, Ore. — Auxiliary equipment maker Entek has named Kimberly Medford as president of Entek Manufacturing LLC, its extruder making business.
She takes over from Larry Keith, Entek CEO, who had filled the post since Kirk Hanawalt retired earlier this year. Medford previously was vice president and general counsel for the Lebanon-based company.
Medford joined Entek in 2012 and previously had represented Entek as outside counsel.
"Entek Manufacturing is a very special part of the Entek family of companies, and I am honored to take on this new role as its president," Medford said. "It's an exciting time at Entek, as we grow and expand to meet the needs of our customers. The future is incredibly bright for our extruders business, with great opportunities to help our customers grow in increasingly important areas such as recycling and bioplastics. Going forward Entek will be at the forefront of plastics recycling and environmental solutions."
In addition to its extruders, Entek's other business units made lead-acid and lithium-ion battery separators and equipment.
"It's an understatement to say that 2020 has been a difficult year," Medford wrote in a blog posted on the company's website. "Like everyone in our country and around the world, we've had to deal with the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has brought enormous challenges. Here in Oregon we were also faced with wildfires this fall that burned down a large part of our state and threatened the health and safety of our surrounding communities and our employees."
While the wildfires did not threaten Entek's operations, several employees volunteered at shelters and food banks to help those displaced by the fires, she said.
"Despite these challenges, Entek stood strong with our employees, suppliers and customers and is ready for 2021 stronger than ever," she wrote. "While COVID is still very much a part of our daily lives, we have stringent safety measures in place and continue to conduct business as usual to meet our customers' needs. I am so proud of our teams for their resilience and commitment through the shifting challenges we faced during 2020."