The industry's best Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference for processors!

October 19-23, 2020 

The 2020 Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference will be held virtually. 
Please watch a message from Tim Capps, president, Par 4 Plastics and MAPP board president, and Troy Nix, MAPP executive director, here.

Please read our press release about the virtual Conference here.

ABOUT

SPEAKERS

The Conference team is pleased to welcome the following speakers to the event:

Troy Nix, Executive Director
Troy Nix serves as the Master of Ceremonies for the Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference. Known for his spirit, enthusiasm, and belief in American manufacturing, Nix will deliver an opening address that will focus on lessons in leadership and the importance of becoming more in tune with one’s inner self. Professionals over the last decade who have heard Nix deliver his opening address know that the first 30 minutes of the conference will spark emotion in each attendee’s inner core. This year’s message will focus on the tapping into that internal fuel source to inspire, motivate and overcome obstacles encountered every day. Nix’s tag line “America Is What America Makes” is an essential ideal that motivates those attending the conference to strive for excellence.

Phil Van Hooser 
Phillip Van Hooser’s approach to leadership training, employee relations and communication skills development is drawn from his own leadership experience in community banking, FORTUNE 500 manufacturing and consumer products companies.From his roles in employee relations, training, and human resources, Van Hooser knows firsthand the very real impact authentic, respected, engaged employee relations have on productivity and profits. He knows the practical, commonsense strategies leaders, managers and supervisors can implement to win credibility, communicate effectively, engage confidently with employees while reducing conflict and reaching organizational goals.

An engaging keynote speaker, leadership training expert, accomplished business writer, and mentor to emerging Millennial and Gen Z leaders, Phillip Van Hooser is committed to delivering keynotes and professional development training that helps companies and organizations experience stronger, more productive leader / employee relations, greater teamwork, trust, communication and collaboration, and improved bottom-line business results.

Dr. Chris Kuehl
Dr. Chris Kuehl is a managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world. He is the chief economist for several national and international organizations – Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, National Association of Credit Management, American Supply Association, Chemical Coaters Association International, Industrial Heating Equipment Association and others. He is also the economic analyst for several state accounting societies – Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Dakota, Minnesota and Kansas.

Prior to starting Armada in 1999 he was a professor of economics and finance for 15 years – teaching in the US, Hungary, Russia, Estonia, Singapore and Taiwan. He holds advanced degrees in economics, Soviet studies and East Asian studies.

Kuehl is the author of Business Intelligence Briefs and Executive Intelligence Briefs - both publications from Armada. He is also responsible for the Credit Manager’s Index from NACM and Fabrinomics from the FMA.

Brigadier General Maureen LeBoeuf, U.S. Army, retired, ED.D.
Maureen LeBoeuf spent 28 years in the U.S. Army, where she held various staff and leadership positions, as well as flying UH-1 helicopters in the continental United States and Europe. Most noteworthy was her assignment as the Professor and Head of the Department of Physical Education from 1997 until her retirement in 2004. Her position carried the unique title “Master of the Sword.” She was the first woman to chair a department chair at the U.S. Military Academy since it was founded in 1802. Upon her retirement, LeBoeuf was advanced to the rank of Brigadier General. She served as the Executive Director of the Feagin Leadership Program at Duke Sports Medicine, and currently serves as the Chair of the USO of North Carolina.

Maureen Leboeuf’s research interests have focused on leadership, as well as fitness and wellness. She served as co-editor of Fit & Active: The West Point Physical Development Program. In 2016, she was selected as the University of Georgia Department of Kinesiology Distinguished Alumnus, as well as inducted into the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps National Hall of Fame. She published the book, Developing Your Philosophy of Living & Leading: One Moment at a Time in 2019.

Matt Fish
Matt Fish joined Vital Plastics as CFO in 2017. Prior to joining Vital Plastics, Fish was an accounting professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire for six years. Fish taught accounting courses, including accounting information systems, and has written and published research articles on performance management systems in accounting. Prior to his academic career, Fish spent 10 years working for several manufacturing companies in roles that span from financial business analyst to chief financial officer. Fish has helped install and implement several different ERP systems and enjoys mining and using data to drive organizational change. Fish is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA), has an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA and holds a doctoral degree from the University of St. Thomas.Matt Fish joined Vital Plastics as CFO in 2017. Prior to joining Vital Plastics, Fish was an accounting professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire for six years. Fish taught accounting courses, including accounting information systems, and has written and published research articles on performance management systems in accounting. Prior to his academic career, Fish spent 10 years working for several manufacturing companies in roles that span from financial business analyst to chief financial officer. Fish has helped install and implement several different ERP systems and enjoys mining and using data to drive organizational change. Fish is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA), has an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA and holds a doctoral degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Chris Lamm
Christopher Lamm is an Air Force veteran and has a B.S. from Purdue University FW and an MBA from Indiana University FW.   Lamm has been in the composites industry for eight years with a focus on Account Management, Engineering Design and Development, and New Product Development and Realization with new and existing materials, products, and customers.  Lamm is a member of the MAPP YP Board, Auburn, IN Planning Commission, Quiet Knight, Inc. Board, SPE, and other professional, civil, and community bodies.  His  focus on unique solutions and a collaborative approach to leverage lessons learned across multiple industries and carry them forward to create opportunities for innovation and simple solutions to meet the needs of the market, customers, communities, and organizations.

Alan Rothenbuecher 
Alan Rothenbuecher’s specialty is building assets and business, and then protecting them from others. He has developed a particular expertise in the plastics industry, enabling him to assess business trends and needs and provide services via alternative fee arrangements. His industry expertise has led to Rothenbuecher being selected to act as general counsel for and serve on the board of industry trade associations, such as the Manufacturers Association of Plastic Processors (MAPP) and the American Mold Builders Association (AMBA).  He is a Fellow of the American Bar Association, is fluent in German and is recognized by Martindale-Hubble as an AV Peer Review Rated attorney and by Thomson Reuters as an Ohio Super Lawyer.