RELINEEUROPE acquires interest in RELINEAMERICA
RELINEEUROPE announced it acquired a 50 percent interest in American pipe liner manufacturer RELINEAMERICA, making the company part of the worldwide Reline UV Group. The operational leadership of RELINEAMERICA will be led by Tim Cook and Jerry Botts; both will hold the title of vice president. In the future, RELINEAMERICA will support the Reline UV Group’s customers located in the North, Latin and South American markets.

Scott Bardreau joins Midland Metal’s management team
Midland Metal announced Scott Bardreau joined the company as chief sales officer for its growing platform of companies, which includes Anderson Metals and Buchanan Rubber. Bardreau has over 35 years of industry experience across plumbing and heating, industrial, waterworks and irrigation verticals. He spent the last 12 years with Matco-Norca in the role of vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to Matco-Norca, he served in various management roles at Watts Water Technologies, in both wholesale and retail channels.

Aries Industries announces promotions, new hires
Aries Industries announced it has strengthened its market outreach with a promotion and two new employees. John Kudis, formerly northeast regional sales manager, was promoted to the new position of national accounts manager. Kevin Hastings has rejoined the company as western regional sales manager. And Boris Holmes has been hired as the company’s first Rocky Mountain regional sales manager.

Kudis has 15 years’ experience at Aries Industries. His new role as national accounts manager focuses on business development with large contractors and supporting the growth of existing large contractor accounts. He is based in the Waukesha, Wisconsin, office.

Hastings rejoins Aries Industries, bringing 13 years of broad-based knowledge in the underground inspection industry. He started his career as a service technician and gradually added responsibilities for product training, as well as sales and management duties. His background encompasses both the manufacturing and contractor side of the industry, plus certification by NASSCO. Hastings is based in the Fresno, California, office.

Holmes brings more than two decades of experience in national accounts management to his role. He comes to Aries Industries from Master’s Transportation in Denver, where he guided significant growth in revenue and office openings as regional sales manager. His background includes sales and management for two multilocation national engineering firms, plus a national provider of heavy equipment and tools, providing a significant knowledge base to serve Aries Industries’ customers.

Draincables Direct welcomes new sales representative
Draincables Direct announced it added a truck route that will service Utah and Nevada, as well as surrounding locations. The new route will be operated by Dean Pruitt, Draincables Direct territory sales representative. Pruitt began his career in the plumbing and drain cleaning industry in 1993 and worked for a local Utah plumbing company until 2002. At that time, he started a plumbing company of his own, which he ran until 2010. He has also worked for Spartan Tool in Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Idaho as a territory sales manager.

Smith named president of Subsite Electronics and HammerHead Trenchless
Charles Machine Works has named Kevin Smith president of Subsite Electronics and HammerHead Trenchless. The company also announced a joint leadership team headed by Smith. Smith’s new leadership team will include Randy Rupp, Brian Kenkel and Christi Woods.

Rupp has been named general manager of Subsite Electronics. Rupp, who has served as vice president of product strategy at Ditch Witch for the past four and a half years, has held various positions within the organization including business and global accounts manager, regional sales manager, national sales manager, product manager and director of product definition.

Kenkel has accepted the position as general manager of HammerHead Trenchless. Kenkel joined the company six years ago, most recently serving as director of repair and replacement. He has spent his career in the underground construction industry, including 10 years owning and operating a successful contracting company.

Woods is assuming an expanded role as controller of Subsite Electronics and HammerHead Trenchless. She has more than 20 years’ experience working as a CPA and small-business entrepreneur.

Germundson’s Home Furnishings to become Mattracks Innovation Center
The building in Karlstad, Minnesota, that housed furniture for about 70 years will become home to Mattracks vehicles and memorabilia. Glen Brazier, Mattracks founder and CEO, says the old furniture store is the “absolute perfect fit” for the Mattracks Innovation Center. According to Germundson’s Home Furnishings, the building has been a furniture store since 1948. Mattracks, which started business in 1994, has shipped products to over 100 countries and can be found in operation on all seven continents.

Vactor announces plans to expand manufacturing facility
Vactor announced plans to expand its Streator, Illinois, manufacturing facility. The project is expected to increase Vactor’s production capacity and add up to 90 additional jobs. The first phase of the project will expand the existing fabrication, welding, paint and assembly areas, as well as the test bays. Additionally, the current training center and customer inspection facility will be updated. Overall, the expansion will add approximately 100,000 square feet to the existing facility. Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2019, with completion targeted by the end of the year.