Steven Chrust, Chairman of the Board of APJeT, has announced the appointment of Bentley Park as APJeT’s new CEO. Park will replace John Emrich, who has been CEO of APJeT since 2007. Although retiring, Emrich will remain on the company’s board of directors.

Park brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to APJeT at this important time in the company’s evolution from primarily a development company to commercialisation. His experience in leadership roles at a number of companies as President and CEO, coupled with his knowledge in chemical engineering, will add great value to the company, Chrust believes.

His business background spans broad experience in both the textiles and chemical industries, key areas of focus for APJeT. He has also managed a midsize company increasing revenues from US$ 80 million to US$ 200 million, while significantly growing earnings. That company was successfully auctioned and sold.

Emrich took APJeT from a lab-based entity located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and transitioned it to North Carolina State University in 2009, where he formed an Applications Development Team. That development team created the capability to stabilize atmospheric plasma in a very dense, high-powered form. “To this day, we believe APJeT is the only company that has this capability,” said Chrust.

The team took this achievement and created chemical blends allowing for plasma initiation of chemistry on fabrics for creating post finishing attributes. Finishes that can be applied with APJeT’s plasma technology include water and oil repellents, flame retardants and antimicrobial and other finishes, which are all currently applied using water technologies. Unlike the current wet technology, the APJeT process is said to offer substantial cost savings and uses no water, minimises chemical use and utility costs and is sustainable.

“Despite the challenges of bringing a disruptive technology into commercialisation, Emrich was able to bring the company to its current state of introducing a system for commercial operation,” concluded Chrust.

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