Kadant Appoints Chief Operating Officer
ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2006--Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) announced that it has appointed Edward J. Sindoni to the new position of chief operating officer (COO), effective today, with responsibility for all of the company's global operations. Mr. Sindoni has also been named an executive vice president of Kadant.
Mr. Sindoni, age 61, joined the company in 1987 as senior vice president of its Kadant Web Systems paper machine accessories business after a 21-year career with General Electric. He was named president of that operation in 1993. Mr. Sindoni also served as a vice president of Kadant since 1991, and was appointed senior vice president in 2001, heading the company's worldwide accessories and water-management operations. Eric T. Langevin, age 43, will assume that operational responsibility and has been named a Kadant vice president. Mr. Langevin has been president of Kadant Web Systems Inc. since 2001, and before that held various management roles there since joining the company in 1986.
William A. Rainville, chairman and chief executive officer of Kadant, said, "I'm very pleased to have a seasoned operations executive such as Ed serve as COO at this stage in our corporate development. We made a number of significant operational changes last year to strengthen the company, and I look forward to working closely with Ed to build on the progress we've made to achieve our goals for growth. I'm also delighted to have the opportunity to increase Eric's responsibilities, as he has proven himself an excellent leader with great potential."
Kadant Inc. is a leading supplier to the global pulp and paper industry, with a range of products and services for improving efficiency and quality in pulp and paper production, including paper machine accessories, and systems for stock preparation, fluid handling, and water management. Our fluid-handling products are also used to optimize production in the steel, rubber, plastics, food, and textile industries. In addition, we produce granules from papermaking byproducts for agricultural and lawn and garden applications. Kadant is based in Acton, Massachusetts, with approximately $244 million in revenues and 1,400 employees in 16 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.kadant.com.
The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements about our expected future business and financial performance, and actions taken to position the company for future growth. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such statements are set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Kadant's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended October 1, 2005. These include risks and uncertainties relating to our dependence on the pulp and paper industry; international sales and operations; competition; increases in our debt; restrictions in our credit agreement; our ability to successfully integrate Kadant Johnson; our acquisition strategy; our ability to complete the restructuring of our French subsidiary; retention of liabilities and warranty claims associated with composite building products manufactured prior to the sale of the business; availability of raw materials and exposure to commodity price fluctuations related to the manufacture of fiber-based products; protection of patents and proprietary rights; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; and anti-takeover provisions. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
CONTACT: Kadant Inc.
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SOURCE: Kadant Inc.