Victaulic announced the appointment of Rick Bucher as CEO, succeeding John F. Malloy, effective Jan. 31. Dr. Bucher was named president of Victaulic in April 2020, following a June 2019 appointment as chief operating officer. Prior to joining Victaulic in 2009 as vice president of engineering, Dr. Bucher worked 15 years for W.L. Gore, a manufacturer of technologically advanced composite materials. Dr. Bucher received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in engineering from Rice University in Houston, and a Ph.D. in material science from Virginia Tech University.

In alignment with its strategic focus on enhancing customer experiences and differentiating through innovation, Uponor North America announced the appointment of Brett Boyum to the position of vice president of marketing and offerings. Boyum also becomes a member of the company’s senior management committee. In this critical role, Boyum will focus on growing business by accelerating the innovation pipeline, managing the product portfolio, connecting the technical aspects of solutions to the needs of Uponor’s customers, and building stronger connections between company strategies and customer experiences, Uponor noted.

Nadeem Mirza has joined Watts as senior product manager, backflow and risers. Mirza has overall responsibility for the strategy, new product development and product management of Watts, Ames Fire and Waterworks, and FEBCO brand backflow and riser solutions. He brings with him extensive experience in product management for large and diverse product portfolios across several industry verticals and global markets, Watts pointed out.

REAHAU announced the promotion of Dr. Thomas Troeger from CMO to CEO of the Americas region. The regional executive board of REHAU Americas, with headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia, includes Troeger; Theo Haast, chief financial officer; and Terry Barnaby, head of operations (COO). Haast, who headed the region as president and CFO since January 2019, has elected to refocus on his main and key responsibilities as CFO. “We thank Theo for leading the region to improved profitability during the last two years, an important step in preparing the foundation for growth in the Americas,” said William Christensen, CEO REHAU Group.

Recently retired National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) President and CEO Dirk Van Dongen joined the Proton AI Board of Advisors as a senior advisor. Van Dongen retired from NAW after 41 years of service.

Lebanon, Pennsylvania-based APR Supply recently acquired a 350,000-square-foot distribution center a few miles from its current Lebanon DC. APR said its goal is to move from its current DC to the new location at 1560 Joel Drive by the end of June. The move to the nearby location, the 99-year-old distributor noted, will allow for continued growth, while remaining in the Lebanon community. “After nearly 18 years at the Guilford Street location, we’ve simply outgrown our warehouse,” APR Supply President Scott Weaver said. “Despite the pandemic, we have experienced double-digit growth in 2020, and expect that growth to continue. Our new facility at Joel Drive is more than double the useable space of our current location, and will allow us to better service our customers and continue to grow for years to come.”

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recently announced Uponor North America is the 2020 Manufacturing Sustainability Award honoree recognizing the commitment to conserving water, reducing waste, improving energy efficiency and empowering labor. Each year, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal honors the region’s top manufacturing companies that drive the local economy with innovation and productivity at world-class levels. This marks the first time Uponor has won the prestigious award.

After hosting a live virtual event this month for its new line of boiler and combi-boiler products, Navien will follow up with a March 16 live virtual event to introduce its latest water heater innovations. The event will offer insight on the newest products from Navien and allow attendees to interact and ask questions live with the Navien team. To register, visit www.navieninc.com/live.

RectorSeal, manufacturer of quality HVAC/R and plumbing tools and accessories and a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSW Industrials, announced that Vernon Bitzer Associates will represent RectorSeal’s plumbing products in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. Vernon Bitzer is headquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Daikin North America, a subsidiary of Daikin Industries, manufacturer of heating, cooling and refrigerant products, announced the alignment with ABCO HVACR Supply + Solutions. ABCO is a full-line distributor of HVAC and refrigeration systems and supplies in the Northeastern United States.