SI Handling Systems Names Elmer Gates Chairman of the Board of Directors
24 June 1999
SI Handling Systems Names Elmer D. Gates Chairman of the Board of Directors And William R. Johnson President and CEO
EASTON, Pa., June 24 -- The Board of Directors of SI Handling
Systems, Inc. has approved the following organizational
changes. Elmer D. Gates has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors and
William R. Johnson has been named President and CEO of the Company, effective
July 21, 1999.
Mr. Gates has served on the SI Board since 1996. He is a graduate
mechanical engineer from Clarkson College. He enjoyed a rewarding 31-year
career with General Electric prior to joining Fuller Company in 1982 as
President and Chief Operating Officer. His mission was to restore Fuller
Company to sustained profitability. With the help of many people, Fuller
became a world leader in the cement industry. In 1986, he led a management
buy-out of the company and, in 1990, Fuller Company was sold to F.L. Smidth of
Denmark. Mr. Gates combined a spirit of entrepreneurship with the disciplines
essential to long-term business success during his tenure as Chairman,
President, and CEO of Fuller.
Ed Fahey plans to remain on the Board and contribute to the future success
of SI. "Ed Fahey has been a real leader for SI during his tenure as
Chairman," said Elmer Gates. "His strong leadership in industry has carried
over here and has been a big factor in the growth at SI. We plan to continue
aggressive internal and external growth goals in the future." Ed Fahey has
been a member of SI's Board since 1992 and became Chairman in 1994.
Mr. Johnson recently joined the Company as President as part of a
succession plan for CEO. He had a 21-year career with Rockwell Automation's
Reliance Electric. He was Senior Vice President of the Reliance Motor Group
with worldwide responsibility for motors, from fractions through 25,000
horsepower. Mr. Johnson holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from
Michigan Technological University and an MBA from the College of St. Thomas.
He will continue to be a member of the Board of Directors.
"Bill Johnson brings outstanding leadership to SI," said Mr. Gates. "He
is a seasoned corporate executive with a strong customer focus and great
teambuilding skills. He has a `make it happen' attitude, and a leadership
ability to achieve sustained growth. Already he has compressed the Company's
overall organizational structure and established a global procurement function
to partner with suppliers to achieve a competitive advantage for the Company's
systems business."
"I'm excited by the opportunity at SI," said Mr. Johnson. "We have some
great strengths. We're a customer-relationship business, and our repeat
business and referrals provide a great platform for the growth of the Company.
We also have challenges to build new strengths in marketing and cost
reduction. Len Yurkovic has done an outstanding job of growing the Company
and creating an aggressive success-driven culture. Our employees are our best
asset, and I'm impressed with their commitment and innovation. The process of
improvement is a way of life here."
Len Yurkovic will retire as SI's CEO. Since joining SI in 1979 as Vice
President of Finance, Len has held several executive positions at SI,
including President and Chief Operating Officer beginning in 1985 and Managing
Director of European Operations in 1987. In 1988, he was named President and
Chief Executive Officer. "His vision and strong management skills have
brought the Company to the customer leadership position it currently enjoys,"
said Mr. Johnson. The Company has grown in sales from $29 million to
$40 million while Len was CEO and Ed was Chairman. SI has grown into a
leading systems supplier, providing solutions to materials handling
applications. Len will continue as Vice Chairman of the Board.
Cautionary Statement. Certain statements contained herein are not based
on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among other things,
they regard the Company's earnings, liquidity, financial condition, and
certain operational matters, words or phrases denoting the anticipated results
of future events, such as "is anticipated," "believes," "estimate," "are
expected," "may," "will," "will likely," "will help increase," "projects," and
similar expressions that denote uncertainty, are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. The Company's actual results, performance, or
achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied
by, such "forward-looking statements:" (1) as a result of risks and
uncertainties identified in connection with those forward-looking statements,
including those factors identified herein, and in the Company's publicly filed
reports; (2) as a result of factors over which the Company has no control,
including the strength of domestic and foreign economies, sales growth,
competition, and certain cost increases; or (3) if the factors on which the
Company's conclusions are based do not conform to the Company's expectations.