Romaco

Robbins & Myers, Inc. has appointed Thomas Luken president of its Romaco Business Unit. Mr. Luken will have direct responsibility for Romaco’s worldwide operations, including all sales activities and production sites in Italy, Germany and Switzerland — centers of excellence for the company’s liquids and powder packaging, solids packaging and solids and semi-solids processing equipment ranges.

Mr. Luken has extensive experience in international manufacturing and sales and has held senior management positions in the computer, automotive and industrial equipment sectors. He served as materials manager at Eaton Controls, logistics director and later managing director at Gestra GmbH, VP-Operations at Invensys Flow Control and most recently business group president of the APV Products Group, an Invensys division supplying fluid handling, heat exchangers and homogenizer products.

“We are delighted that Tom has accepted the post of president of Romaco and are confident that his wide reaching knowledge and experience will be of significant benefit in helping to drive the company forward,” says Peter Wallace, president and chief executive officer of Robbins & Myers. “For a company to stay at the forefront of the market it serves there must be constant investment in both technology and people and with Tom’s appointment we are gaining someone of the highest caliber.”

Richard Oates, who has headed Romaco for the past two years, will continue to provide strategic support as required. “We are deeply indebted to Richard for his tireless support,” says Peter Wallace. “His many years’ senior management experience with Romaco, his perceptiveness and his thorough understanding of the markets it serves have been invaluable, in terms both of delivering performance in difficult market conditions and in shaping the platform on which Romaco will build its future success. I am sure that Tom and the entire Romaco team will want to join me in wishing Richard all the very best for the future.”