MOVERS AND SHAKERS

PMI announced the election of Martin Knieps as president of the 2022 PMI Board of Directors during PMI’s 67th Annual Meeting of the Membership yesterday. The senior director of operational excellence at Viega, Knieps succeeds Todd Teter, senior vice president and general manager of the Professional Plumbing Group House of Rohl North America, a division of Moen. Teter will remain on the board as immediate past president. The meeting was held during the PMI21 Manufacturing Success Conference in San Diego.

In addition to Knieps and Teter, the other members of the 2022 board will be board vice president Sal Gattone, LIXIL; board secretary/treasurer Chip Way, Lavelle Industries; and at-large directors Daniel Gleiberman, Sloan Valve; Cambria McLeod, Kohler; Bob Neff, Delta Faucet; and Belinda Wise, Kerox, Ltd.

In his acceptance remarks, Knieps said he was honored by the confidence placed in him by the membership. He emphasized PMI’s abundant room to grow by embracing the opportunities created by products using Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technology and by addressing challenges posed by climate change. “Nobody does the work alone and your participation makes all the difference” he said.

Knieps thanked Teter for his contributions as the 2021 PMI board president by presenting him with a California state flag flown over the capitol in Sacramento. He also announced that the 68th Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held as part of the PMI22 Manufacturing Success Conference from Oct. 24-27, 2022, at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.

In his state of the association report, PMI CEO/Executive Director Kerry Stackpole congratulated Teter for his leadership during a challenging year and expressed his delight in seeing all the attendees in person. “The success of PMI is found in three things – people, process and products,” he stated. Stackpole held a moment of silence in memory of Paul Patton, a former PMI board president, and spoke of his distinguished contributions to PMI and the plumbing manufacturing industry. He also reviewed PMI’s accomplishments, its coalition partners, and the issues the association tackled during 2021.

Centrotherm Eco Systems, manufacturer of the InnoFlue brand of polypropylene vent systems and accessories, announced a key addition to the sales team.

Jason Barnes joins Centrotherm as regional sales manager covering the Western territory of the United States. Barnes joins Centrotherm with almost two decades of experience. Previously, Barnes worked in the waterworks plant and industrial industry where he helped improve the United States’ outdated water infrastructure, while supporting domestic manufacturing and American jobs, Centrotherm noted.

“It was an easy decision to join Centrotherm,” Barnes explained. “The company exemplifies commitment to the betterment of the HVAC/plumbing industry. I look forward to supporting American jobs, manufacturing and continuing to promote and sell cutting-edge products that will greatly improve the industry.”

Telgian Engineering & Consulting (TEC) announced the addition of Keith Butler as regional practice leader, fire protection engineering for the Southeast region. In this position, Butler will be responsible for the implementation of innovative fire protection solutions and strategies serving TEC clients.

“Keith has a proven track record as an exceptional and respected leader,” says TEC President Leonard Ramo. “His success in creating client-focused solutions, as well as leading and growing a diverse team, are essential as he will oversee our rapidly growing fire protection engineering practice in the Southeast (US).”

With more than 13 years of experience, Butler specializes in fire protection engineering for the oil and gas sectors. In addition, he has led large projects for heavy industrial clients focusing on fire and life safety system analysis, design development, construction management and commissioning, as well as hazardous materials review and analysis. His experience also includes project management for high hazard industrial occupancies including refineries, bulk plants, tank farms, power plants, aircraft hangars, storage facilities, warehousing and transportation facilities.

Butler earned a bachelor of science in fire protection and safety technology from Oklahoma State University and is a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). A LEED Accredited Professional since 2008, he is also a recipient of the Consulting Specifying Engineer magazine – 40 under 40 Award.

EN Engineering (“EN”), a national engineering, consulting and compliance services firm to the infrastructure markets, announced the appointment of Adam Biggam as CEO. EN is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Co., a private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, New York.

Biggam assumes the role of CEO following his recent promotion to president of EN Engineering earlier this year. He served as executive vice president of the utilities business unit prior to his promotion to president. His strong leadership has been an important driver of the accelerated and consistent growth of the utilities business unit.   

“Adam Biggam has been an instrumental player in the growth of EN as it has scaled to one of the nation’s leading providers of specialized professional services to infrastructure customers. Adam possesses a strong commitment to employees, customers and the growth of EN. We are confident that, with Adam as CEO, EN is poised for continued success,” said Benjamin J. Mao, partner of Kohlberg.

Biggam has been a significant driver of EN’s growth as executive vice president, business unit leader over the utilities group. EN’s utilities group provides best-in-class regulatory and maintenance-driven professional services to assist the nation’s largest gas and electric utilities as they perform mission-critical infrastructure maintenance and repair to ensure safe and reliable delivery of energy to their end customers.  

Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, announced that Marvin Griffin, PE, has joined the firm as the federal lead and business manager for the firm’s Huntsville, Alabama, office. Griffin will be based in Huntsville.

With more than 27 years serving as an Army Engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Griffin served as a colonel and the commander of a 1,100-person public engineer organization. In his role, he managed and delivered a global $2.3 billion annual program in support of military installations and other federal agencies; provided subject matter expertise for specialty architectural-engineering services for Department of Defense medical, chemical weapons remediation, energy systems, sustainability, environmental, ordnance and explosives, control system cyber security, electronic security, master planning, and ballistic missile defense; and managed and executed centralized programs for information technology, furnishings and high-performance computing. Griffin joins Dewberry to manage business development and client relationships in the federal market throughout the Southeast.

“Marvin brings an exceptional resume to Dewberry,” says Dewberry Vice President Dan Blackman, PE. “His many years serving our country as part of USACE and his most recent duty as the commander of the Huntsville Support Center, the second-largest federal buying center in the U.S., positions him to strategically grow our federal business. His deep understanding of the federal marketplace and clients will directly impact how we are better able to serve our federal clients and grow our business.”

KAI announced the hiring of Selina Witherspoon, PE, CEM, as director of mechanical engineering at its Dallas-Fort Worth office.  

Witherspoon comes to KAI with 14 years of mechanical engineering experience, having previously worked for Syska Hennessy in Dallas. Her prior project experience focused on higher education, municipal, and private and government assignments for new construction and facility renovations. Her expertise also includes preparing engineering analyses and studies including energy conservation/reduction and performing detailed HVAC design requirements and load simulators for commercial and industrial complexes.

As director of mechanical engineering, Witherspoon will engage with clients to determine the type of mechanical systems needed for their facilities, oversee the design of HVAC systems, develop design fees for mechanical design and provide mentorship to new designers and engineers.

“Selina is a wonderful addition to our KAI Engineering team in DFW. Her background with a diverse mix of project types and complexities is well aligned with our KAI portfolio and growth strategy,” said KAI Managing Partner Brad Simmons, FAIA. “Selina has rapidly engaged with our Engineering team, driving intelligent design solutions and a quality product. Her collaborative nature is a terrific fit with KAI’s culture.”

Midland Industries announced the acquisition of Century Brass Products, a distributor of primarily machined brass fittings and valves to the plumbing industry across the U.S.

“The acquisition of Century Brass strengthens our team and product offering while expanding our customer base and footprint in the plumbing wholesale space,” Midland CEO John Gerber said. “We welcome Terry Klein and his team to the Midland family and look forward to learning from their years of history and deep product knowledge, enabling us to continue providing our customers a distinct advantage in the marketplace.”  

“We are excited to be part of the Midland family,” said Klein, vice president of Century Brass. “We’re thrilled to leverage the technology and product offering to our customers, and to utilize the connected network of inventory across the United States.”

Rinnai America announced its soon-to-be-completed North American facility located in Griffin, Georgia. Rinnai is investing in product development for tankless water heaters, boilers, wall furnaces and more on U.S. soil. Alongside business development, Rinnai will also play a role in the local economy by fulfilling 150 positions by early 2022.

“We’re extremely pleased to continue our company’s development in Georgia as our Griffin facility gets up to speed,” said Frank Windsor, president, Rinnai America. “By creating new jobs and putting money back into the local economy, we’re showcasing our commitment to Creating a healthier way of living® for our employees, partners and community.”

Of the 150 new roles being created, most are within the manufacturing and distribution sector and range from associate-level positions to managers. However, Rinnai is also actively recruiting for more than ten leadership roles ranging from group leaders to a new area manager, as well as several other maintenance, safety, engineering, human resources and information technology roles.