Contract Manufacturing Resilience & Resurgence

Tuesday, February 20
JW Marriott Nashville – Symphony Ballroom
2:00pm CT

Toll and contract manufacturers are poised for growth. Companies did not let a slow business climate in 2023 deter their focus. They used this opportunity to build stronger operations to go further and faster as they looked for business opportunities in return in 2024. Hear “war stories” about how they secured their supply chains to mitigate risk, navigated the impact of China and India flooding the market with product below operating cost, and trained up and retained their employees in preparation for increased demand.

This session is included with SOCMA Show Attendee and Exhibitor Registration. Register to join us in Nashville. For more information, contact us at info@socma.org.

Moderator:

Carolyn Karonka, Chevron Oronite 
Category Manager – Chemicals, Chevron Oronite

Panelists:

Kate Hampford Donahue, CEO
Hampford Research, Inc

SOCMA Board Chair

Kate H. Donahue is CEO of Hampford Research, Inc., which is a family owned, custom chemical manufacturing firm. It specializes in hi-purity specialty chemicals used in the electronics, dental, cosmetics, engineered materials and printing/lithography industries, and is located in Stratford, CT.

Joe Wilson, President & CEO
Toll Solutions

SOCMA Board Member, Executive Committee, Class of 2024

Joe Wilson brings 47 years of an extensive background in the specialty chemicals industry. He is the Owner, President & CEO of Toll Solutions, LLC, a custom and toll manufacturer in Duncan, SC. Prior to Toll Solutions Joe held executive leadership positions at StarChem, Wacker Silicones and Henkel. Joe is a very active leader in his community. He serves on the Boards of Middle Tyger Community Center, Spartangreen Property Owners Association, Middle Tyger Area Council, Selah Grey Foundation and Rebel Touchdown Club. Joe has a BSChE from Cornell University. Joe and his wife Meg have two grown sons and two grandchildren.

Jeff Barnes, President & CEO
NASi

SOCMA Board of Governor, Class of 2024

Jeff Barnes serves as the President and CEO of NASi, a leading North American specialty liquid chemical manufacturer that supplies several markets including agricultural, energy, transportation, as well as various other industrial markets. Jeff joined NASi in 2006 becoming the CEO in 2014. He is based at the NASi headquarters in Marion, Ohio. Jeff has over 25 years of experience in senior management positions. Before joining NASi he worked for Electrolux/Frigidaire and General Electric. He has worked in Italy and Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as various locations in the United States. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science degree from Muskingum University and a Masters of Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Dublin, Ohio.

Rae Johnson, SVP, Sales & Marketing
ChemDesign

Rae has led the sales efforts of ChemDesign since 2004. He has a BS in Chemistry from Centre College in Danville, KY and over 30 years of experience in the chemical industry, working for Stepan Company, Hickson-DanChem, Brenntag and Ruetgers before joining ChemDesign.  He is focused on developing relationships in the chemical toll manufacturing market.  He lives in Richmond, Virginia and enjoys golf, travel, and cooking.

Clayton Pace, President, Commercial Operations & Technology
Seatex

Clay Pace joined Seatex in September 2022 upon Seatex’s acquisition of ChemQuest Chemicals.  Clay serves as Seatex’s President of Commercial Operations and Technology.  Prior to that, Clay was President and Chief Executive Officer of ChemQuest Chemicals LLC, a contract chemical processor located in Pasadena TX.