Press Release
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American Composites Manufacturers Association 1010 North Glebe Road, Suite 450 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703.525.0511 Fax: 703.525.0743 Email: info@acmanet.org Website: www.acmanet.org |
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
| Contact: | Missy Henriksen, CAE, CCT-A |
Cassis, McCabe, Dohn, and Garasi Receive ACMA’s Top Honors at COMPOSITES 2005
Cassis Feted for Lifetime Achievement
September 30, 2005 (Columbus, Ohio) – Dr. Frank Cassis was today awarded the American Composites Manufacturers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award at COMPOSITES 2005 in Columbus, Ohio by ACMA President Bill Kreysler. Kreysler also bestowed honors on Interplastic’s Terry McCabe, this year’s President’s Award Winner, and inducted Alcan Baltek’s George Dohn and Gruber Systems’ Louis Garasi into the Composites Hall of Fame.
“Sometimes hailed as the founding father of the underground gasoline storage tank, Frank Cassis has invested more than 45 years to developing corrosion-resistant composites,” said Kreysler. “With his leadership in application development, Dr. Cassis established isophthalic polyesters as ‘workhorse’ material systems that helped launch and grow the corrosion-resistant equipment sector in the composites industry.”
After serving two years in the U.S. Army as a sergeant in the Engineer Corps., Cassis took a BS from West Virginia University in organic chemistry. With a teaching position and a stipend, he completed his master’s in chemistry at West Virginia before winning a Cottrell Research Foundation of New York Chemistry Fellowship and completing his doctorate at Michigan State Graduate School of Chemistry. At Michigan State, he met and married Betty Jean Hood, then went to work for Standard Oil of Indiana which later became Amoco.
In 1958, Amoco acquired rights to a unique oxidation process. This led Cassis into a study of market potential for aromatic acids. One of the resultant products was isophthalic acid of which there was no current market. After 30 years at Amoco, Cassis started his own consulting firm, FAC Associates, a principal architect behind AOC’s corrosion-resistant and flame retardant resins business, according to AOC officials.
Interplastic’s McCabe Wins ACMA’s President’s Award
For his extensive and innovative work in composites and for volunteering his time to the ACMA, thirty-seven year industry veteran Terry McCabe also was honored today at COMPOSITES 2005 by ACMA President Kreysler who presented him with the 2005 President’s Award.
“Terry caught the industry bug by vacuum bagging insulated shipping containers in Australia in the late 60s,” said Kreysler. “He then started his career with his current employer as a lab technician in 1968 and readily advanced to increasing levels of responsibility. He has been actively involved in designing resins for all processes employed within the composites and cast polymer industries, and along with Everett Pearson, conceptualized the use of vinyl ester skin coats for the marine industry to eliminate osmotic blistering.”
McCabe, currently Interplastic’s Business Manager for Vinyl Esters and Engineered Resins, is a former ACMA board director and leader of the Market Development Alliance. He’s chaired the ACMA Technical Paper Selection Committee, the Scholars Selection Committee, and has served on the Certified Composites Technician Study Manual Writing Committee. He also serves on the board of Winona State University.
Dohn and Garasi Inducted to Composites Hall of Fame
For life-long commitments to the composites industry, George Dohn, recently retired from Alcan Baltek, and Gruber Systems’ Louis Garasi were inducted into the American Composites Manufacturers Association’s (ACMA) Composites Hall of Fame today at COMPOSITES 2005 in Columbus, Ohio.
“To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, honorees must have devoted at least 20 years of service to the industry and made some sort of lasting impact that will forever be felt by industry professionals,” commented ACMA President Bill Kreysler. “This year’s honorees, Lou Garasi and George Dohn without question meet that criteria.”
For more than 35 years, Dohn, a former ACMA board member who holds a degree
in wood products engineering from New York State, worked in various capacities
at Baltek and, later, Alcan-Baltek. He developed some of the first sandwich
applications using balsa as a core material and was the first to implement
laminate evaluation of mechanical properties to augment design of balsa
sandwich constructions.
A recognized pioneer in cast polymer technology, Louis Garasi, who has been
actively involved in the industry since 1957, developed the first standard
molds for cultured marble vanities and was instrumental in the creation
and continuation of the International Cast Polymer Alliance, formerly the
Cast Polymer Institute of which Garasi was a founding member. With more
than 200 employees, Gruber Systems, started in 1965 and headquartered in
Valencia, Calif., under Garasi’s leadership is today a leading manufacturer
and worldwide distributor of cast polymer tooling, equipment, and production
systems for the manufacture of bathroom vanities, bathtubs, kitchen counter
tops and sinks.
“George hasn’t just been a frequent presenter and author, he has exemplified the spirit of volunteerism by truly living and giving his passion for the industry,” said Kreysler. “And Lou is described as a man of extreme integrity and inspiration.”
Copyright © 2005 American Composites Manufacturers Association
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With more than 1,000 member companies, The
American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is the world’s largest
trade group representing the composites industry. ACMA publishes a monthly magazine,
Composites Manufacturing, offers a universal, comprehensive training program
for fabricators - Certified Composites Technician - and provides strong, proactive
leadership in technical, government and regulatory affairs. In addition, ACMA
hosts the largest tradeshow in North America with supplier and fabricator representatives
from all market segments.
For membership information, call 703.525.0511, or email:Info@acmanet.org.
Visit ACMA’s website at www.ACMAnet.org
