Press Release:
News for Immediate Release

ACMA Recognizes Composites Leaders at COMPOSITES Event

February 12, 2010 (Arlington, Va.) – The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) recognized composites industry leaders at its Awards Luncheon at COMPOSITES 2010, Feb. 10 in Las Vegas.  Presented each year at the largest composites event in North American, these prestigious awards honor those individuals who have greatly contributed to the industry and the association.

President’s Award:
For his ability to develop future leaders and his community service,  John Tickle, president of Strongwell Corp., Bristol, Va., received the 2010 President's Award from ACMA President Monty Felix.

John Tickle is a long-time member of ACMA and the association’s immediate past president.  He has been a composites industry leader for more than 40 years—from his early days as an engineer at Owens Corning Tech Centers to his current position as chairman of the board of directors at Strongwell. Hand-picked by industry icon Robert S. Morrison to run Molded Fiber Glass Company (MMFG) in 1972, Tickle eventually purchased MMFG from Shell in 1993, and renamed the company Strongwell.  Through his leadership, Strongwell has grown to be the world’s largest composites pultrusion company.  In addition to his remarkable leadership in the composites industry, Tickle has tirelessly supported community service activities. His involvement in and commitment to the Boy Scouts of America helped establish the Composites Materials Merit Badge to promote a better understanding of composites among tomorrow’s leaders.   Tickle and his family recently provided a generous donation toward the construction of the John Tickle Engineering Building at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The five-story, 110-square-foot building is named for Tickle, who is a UT alumnus, and it will house two key departments in the university’s College of Engineering.

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Royce Newsome, President of Venetian of Lubbock, Lubbock, Texas, received ACMA’s Lifetime Achievement award for his long-standing industry and association leadership.  To be considered for the Lifetime Achievement Award, nominees must have been involved in the composites industry for at least 20 years and must have made a significant and lasting contribution.

After working his way through Texas Tech and receiving a degree in Industrial Management and Accounting, Newsome served his country in the Army reserves.  In 1966, he started Venetian Marble of Lubbock as a franchise of the Venetian Marble in Dallas in 1966. Over the years, Newsome has grown his business, overcoming many obstacles along the way. His plant was destroyed by a tornado in 1970, and in 1996 burned down. Despite these misfortunes, Newsome, with the help of his loyal employees, rebuilt the company and moved forward.  While building his business, Newsome also supported his community, so much so that several years ago, the city of Lubbock awarded his company "Manufacturer of Decade.” Newsome has been a long-time member of ACMA’s International Cast Polymer Alliance, holding numerous leadership positions at both the regional and national levels and helping to guide progress for this segment of the composites industry.

Hall of Fame Inductees:
Two new members of ACMA’s Hall of Fame were inducted during COMPOSITES 2010: Bob Lacovara, principal consultant, Convergent Composites, Perkasie, Pa., and Fred Dierks, president, Composites Solutions Consulting, Adamsville, Tenn.  To be eligible for the ACMA Hall of Fame, inductees must have attained distinction among his/her peers through their efforts, involvement and accomplishments in the composites industry and its associations.

Bob Lacovara
Lacovara traces his first experience with composites back to 1964, when he began building and selling surfboards while still in high school. In college, he turned his hobby into a successful business—Precision Fiberglass.  Then, in 1974, Lacovara became the youngest operations manager at Viking Yacht Co., managing a 150+ person team. In the early 1980s, Lacovara worked as general manager for Structofab, focusing on OEM work for Mack Trucks and building aerospace components.  In 1984, he established a consulting practice and the Fiberglass Fabricators Association (FFA) became his largest client. In 1989, Lacovara merged is consulting practice with FFA to form the association’s Technical Services Department.  He served on the FFA Board of Directors and as president 1985-1886, receiving the FFA President’s Award in 1989.  Lacovara remained with the organization when FFA became the Composites Fabricators Association and then ACMA.  He served as ACMA’s technical director until 2009 when he left to re-establish his composites consulting practice.

In addition his role in developing a number of composites technologies (including Resin Transfer Molding and Vacuum Infusion Process), Lacovara created the industry’s first fiberglass shop technology program (a precursor to ACMA’s Certified Composites Technician program), invented the controlled spraying application method and directed flow plant ventilation technology.  He tirelessly worked with industry leaders to develop the MACT standard, identify the mechanisms of styrene emissions, and develop baseline emissions factors that serve as the foundations for today’s emissions factors.   Lacovara has authored many technical manuals, industry articles and papers and delivered hundreds of educational and technical presentations throughout the composites industry.

Fred Dierks
Dierks has been an active member of ACMA for more than 15 years, serving on ACMA’s Board of Directors twice, including as president from 1999 – 2001.  He’s played key roles on ACMA’s Technical Services Committee and Strategic Planning Committee and co-chaired the association’s Government Affairs Committee.  He was instrumental in bringing about ACMA’s merger with the Composites Institute and providing strategic leadership to the association.  Dierks got his start in composites with Aqua Glass, Inc., where he held numerous positions of responsibility, including Customer Service and Service Technicians Manager, Quality Control Manager, Plant Manager, Vice President of Manufacturing, and finally, Vice President of Planning and Logistics, a position he held until 2007 when he retired to form Composites Solutions Consulting.

Outstanding Volunteer
Cheryl Richards isGlobal Market Development Manager of Wind Energy for PPG Industries. She also chairs ACMA’s new Green Composites Committee, for which she has worked tirelessly on her own time, to nurture and expand the role of composites in sustainable (i.e. “green”) market development.  She has helped established a close dialogue with the American Wind Energy Association—which represents a growing market for composites materials.  Richards also is leading the committee to establish initiatives that will enable manufacturers to understand what “green” means to their customers and how they can provide and promote their “green” products.

Richards received her BS degree in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University in 1986 and her MS degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Cornell University in 1989.  She began her career at PPG Industries in Fiber Glass R&D in Pittsburgh in 1989.  She worked in R&D for 14 years on glass, batch, and refractories with a focus on materials for electronics and materials to improve the environmental footprint.  She served as President of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council, a trade group representing the U.S. Glass Industry, in 2004.  Richards also holds two patents on fiber glass composition.

In 2003, she accepted a commercial role in Market Development in Fiber Glass to focus on Wind Energy.  She was named Global Market Development Manager of Wind Energy in 2007.

# # #

Press Contact:
Gabrielle Hampson [Director of Marketing & Public Relations]
P: 703-682-1654 • F: 703-525-0743 • ghampson@acmanet.org

American Composites Manufacturers Association
1010 North Glebe Road, Suite 450 • Arlington, VA 22201
P: 703-525-0511 • F: 703-525-0743 • E: info@acmanet.org • W: www.acmanet.org

The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is the world’s largest trade group representing the composites industry. ACMA publishes a quarterly magazine, offers a comprehensive training/certification program, provides technical, regulatory and legislative leadership and hosts the largest composites tradeshow in North America. Visit ACMA’s website at www.acmanet.org.