Stepan appoints McCurrie and Fox in PU business

By Liz White, UT staffNorthfield, Illinois-Stepan Co. has hired Mike McCurrie as business manager for its North American Rigid Polyols unit. McCurrie was most recently with Dow Chemical Co. and before that was with Flexible Products for eight years before its acquisition by Dow Chemical, said Stepan. We are excited to have someone of Mike's industry experience and knowledge join our team," said Robert Wood, Stepan's vice president and general manager for polymers, in the firm's announcement. "Mike will coordinate the activities of our North American aromatic polyester polyols business unit in continuing growth in the rigid polyurethane foam market sector. "McCurrie will report to Kevin Knutsen, Stepan's global director of Rigid Aromatic Polyester Polyols.Stepan has also promoted Joshua Fox to market manager, Specialty Polyurethane Systems. Fox will be responsible for the sale of Stepan polyurethane products to aerospace, military and other high performance applications, the firm said Previously Fox was a chemist within Stepan's Polyurethane Systems laboratoryStepan has also commented that its aromatic polyester polyol production site in Nanjing, China, marked its sixth month of operation in November. This plant is doing a great job in servicing the growing needs for aromatic polyester polyols in China and the APAC region," said James Lang, Stepan's general manager in China, in a company statement. We are extremely proud of our employees and partners who have helped make this happen."