Entek Names New President

ENTEK Extruders, which builds twin-screw corotating extruders, turnkey production extrusion systems, and extrusion wear parts and components for compounders and others, has named Kimberly Medford president. The announcement was made by Larry Keith, CEO of the Lebanon, Ore. firm. Keith has been serving as interim president of ENTEK Extruders since the retirement of President Dr. Kirk Hanawalt earlier this year. Medford had been the company’s v.p. and general counsel.

“I am excited to announce that Kim has accepted our offer to be the next President of ENTEK Manufacturing,” said Keith. “As our v.p. and general counsel, she has been an instrumental part of our management team which together is leading our growth and success. She has been deeply involved in our global growth through mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as directly involved with various customer and supplier relationships to help ensure that we continue to uphold the ENTEK standard of being the best supplier to our customers, and the best customer to our suppliers. Kim transitions into her new role from leading our global legal, HR, and EH&S departments.”

Medford joined ENTEK in 2012. Prior to that she represented ENTEK as outside counsel while working at the law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP. She is a graduate of Willamette University.

“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,” said Medford. “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.”

While 2020 has been a challenging year especially due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Medford said many positive things have taken place at ENTEK. “We have worked to better integrate our three business units (lead-acid battery separators, lithium-ion battery separators, and equipment manufacturing) and we now have internal cross-functional teams supporting each other more closely than ever,” she said. “This helps us both produce a better overall team and is further investment in our core value of innovation. We are well-positioned for the future and I look forward to leading our equipment manufacturing business into 2021 and beyond.”