AKRON, Ohio, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A. Schulman, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHLM) announced today that it has named Gary A. Miller to the new position of Vice President of Global Supply Chain and Chief Procurement Officer. Miller will oversee the Company's supply chain and procurement activities to better leverage its worldwide purchasing power, reduce materials inventories, eliminate waste and improve efficiency.
"Procurement is a global function, and consolidating our purchasing and supply chain operations into one global team will further our efforts to improve the profitability of our Company," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Gary brings a tremendous amount of experience and skills in procurement and supply chain management, and we are fortunate to have him on board to lead our efforts in this critical area." The new global supply chain and procurement team will include personnel from each of A. Schulman's business units around the world. The Company's global distribution business will be integrated into the new organization, since a significant portion of the Company's resin purchases are for distribution. The new organization will facilitate communication and provide faster response and implementation of opportunities to reduce costs and develop new products.
"This will permit manufacturing, technology, logistics and procurement to work together to optimize costs and take greater advantage of our global position in the marketplace," Gingo said.
Most recently, Miller was Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and President of Goodyear/SRI Global Purchasing Company, a joint venture between Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. He has more than 35 years of experience with Goodyear, including responsibility for the company's global purchasing activities for the past 16 years.
"Creating this new organization for A. Schulman will allow us to focus on three key priorities -- reducing the cost of materials used and purchased; improving working capital utilization; and identifying new sources of supply for existing products as well as new products in the pipeline," Miller said. "All of these priorities will help us achieve the objectives of the Chairman and Board of Directors to return our North American operations to profitability and position the Company for long-term global growth." About A. Schulman, Inc.
Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, A. Schulman is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins. These materials are used in a variety of consumer, industrial, automotive and packaging applications. The Company employs about 2,400 people and has 16 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe (including Asia). Revenues for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2007, were $1.8 billion. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at http://www.aschulman.com/ .
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They use such words as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, but are subject to a variety of uncertainties, unknown risks and other factors concerning the Company's operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and are beyond the control of the Company. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely affect the Company's future financial performance, include, but are not limited to, the following: -- Worldwide and regional economic, business and political conditions,
including continuing economic uncertainties in some or all of the
Company's major product markets;
-- Fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where the
Company operates, including the U.S. dollar, euro, U.K. pound sterling,
Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, Chinese yuan and Indonesian rupiah;
-- Fluctuations in the prices of sources of energy or plastic resins and
other raw materials;
-- Changes in customer demand and requirements;
-- Escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
-- The outcome of any legal claims known or unknown;
-- The performance of the North American auto market; and
-- The North American recessionary economy. Additional risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.
This release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis only as of the date of this release. A. Schulman does not undertake an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements to reflect new events, information or circumstances, or otherwise. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements can be found in A. Schulman's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: A. Schulman, Inc.
CONTACT: Paul DeSantis, CFO and Treasurer of A. Schulman Inc., +1-330-666-3751 Web site: http://www.aschulman.com/
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