WHITEWATER, Wis.—Trostel Ltd. has appointed David Bouton as its new president and CEO.
Bouton takes over for Steve Dyer, who held the position since May 2013. Trostel said Dyer left the firm to pursue other opportunities.
Bouton's return to the rubber industry brings his career to full circle. He began with DuPont in 1980 as a mechanical engineer out of Ohio State University. During his 24-year career with the firm, he held various positions in manufacturing, busi-ness management and ran a business unit in Asia for several years before he moved to Americhem in 2004. He held that post until 2013, serving as managing partner of consulting firm InnovaNet.
In an interview following a tour and continuous improvement presentation provided to members of the Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers at the firm's Whitewater facility, Bouton said he looks to build on what he sees as a solid foundation at Trostel.
“For us to grow, we've got to go out there and find customers where we can add value. You need a lot of specific capability and a lot of good targeting. We have a lot of application-based market development people,” he said.
“Trostel has a great heritage. Being in business for more than 65 years, it has a solid foundation. We're not about to re-invent the wheel.
“My vision and the vision of our team are to build off of that great heritage and solid foundation to solve differentiated problems in the marketplace on both the mixing and molding side of the business.”
Trostel consists of two units—its elastomer compounding division and molding division, which produces seals and other molded parts for a variety of industries.
The firm's Whitewater operation supports its compounding business, while facilities in Reynosa, Mexico; McAllen, Texas; and Lake Geneva, Wis.—also its corporate headquarters—support the molding side.