Tom Planz Mr. Planz joined KCI as Director of Operations in December 2014. In January 2020, Tom stepped into the role of President of KCI, as Doug Kovatch becomes Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Tom is a proven leader with 38
years of experience in the investment casting industry. Early in his career, he spent 17 years in various engineering and manufacturing positions (for 4 different foundries) working in a range of functional areas, including Lab Tech, Product Engineer, Process Engineer, Production Manager and Plant Manager. He moved to the supplier side of the industry and spent 16+ years working for several different wax suppliers. He oversaw the construction, startup and operation of M. Argueso Inc.’s first wholly owned subsidiary, Cerita West LLC in Tempe. Tom then joined Kindt-Collins LLC where he held the position of President and COO. During his tenure at Kindt-Collins, annual sales tripled and he played an integral role in the sale of Kindt-Collins LLC to Paramelt BV. Post- acquisition, he spent 4 years at Paramelt as its VP of Sales and Global Casting Wax Business Manager. Tom studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan and Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Joseph E. Fritz Mr. Fritz has been the Executive Director of the Investment Casting Institute since 2013. Under his leadership, the ICI has focused its initiatives on member services, educational resources, technological collaboration, industry sustainabil- ity and growth.
With over 35 years’ experience, Mr. Fritz has served the industry in a variety of capacities with a number of Fortune 100 as well as privately held companies, including operations management, quality assurance, engineering, marketing and sales. During this time, he has contributed to a number of programs, including the Navy’s Trident II, Phalanx and Aegis programs, the Air Force’s Joint Strike Fighter program and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program. Mr. Fritz holds degrees in Engineering from the University of Connecticut and an MBA with a concentration in Strategic Marketing from Union College. He is the recipient of a number of management awards from General Electric and Howmet Corporation.
August 2020 ❘ 11 ®
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