White joins Velcro Companies from Gillette as R&D Chief
MANCHESTER – May 27, 2015 – Charles White joined Velcro Companies as Head of Research and Development in its Corporate Innovation Technology Center. White joins Velcro Companies from Gillette, where he worked for 18 years, most recently as the head of razor blades R&D and engineering.
White also served as a senior research engineer at the Advanced Ceramics Research Center at Saint-Gobain/Norton Industrial Ceramics Corp. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Velcro Companies employs more than 500 people in its Manchester production facility. White’s appointment comes as Velcro continues to expand its global manufacturing.
In June, it announced the acquisition of two Belgian companies — Alfatex, a manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasteners in the medical, automotive and industrial sectors, and Gevaert, which manufactures elastic and rigid webbings for the apparel industry.
In 2014, Velcro Companies expanded its presence in Brazil and Latin America through an acquisition and the opening of an office in Sao Paulo.
About Velcro Companies
Velcro Companies is a technology-driven, global organization providing fastening solutions that solve problems in simple, elegant and surprising ways for businesses and consumers around the world. We have a heritage of innovation spanning more than 50 years and own over 400 active patents and numerous trademarks, including the VELCRO® trademark, which is registered throughout the world. We develop and deliver solutions for customers through an integrated production and service system that includes manufacturing locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Belgium and China and sales offices around the world. To buy genuine VELCRO® brand products and to find out more about our company, visit www.velcro.com.
Note to editors:
At Velcro Companies, we are proud that VELCRO® brand products have become a part of everyday life, but that ubiquity sometimes produces confusion. The VELCRO® trademark should be used only when referring to genuine VELCRO® brand fasteners. Non-VELCRO® brand products should be identified by their functional terms, such as “hook and loop,” “self-adhesive straps,” and so forth. The VELCRO® mark should always be used as an adjective and never as a noun or a verb. The term “Velcro Companies” should be used when referring to our company and its executives.
The proper use of the VELCRO® trademark assists us in safeguarding the integrity of the VELCRO® brand, and helps to protect consumers from products incorrectly sold as VELCRO® brand products. For further information on the proper use of the VELCRO® trademark, please see the guidelines on our website.
For additional information please contact:
Julie Barry
Velcro Companies
jbarry@velcro.com
617-946-5536
Amy Thompson
FleishmanHillard
amy.thompson@fleishman.com
617-692-0508
