ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Oct. 19, 2016 — Bob Chapman, Chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, has promoted veteran packaging executive Carol O’Neill to the newly-created role of Group President of Packaging. In this position, O’Neill will lead efforts to enhance the alignment and capabilities of the six businesses within Barry-Wehmiller’s packaging platform: Accraply, BW Container Systems, Hayssen Flexible Systems, Pneumatic Scale Angelus, Synerlink and Thiele Technologies.
O’Neill’s appointment follows steady growth within the capital equipment and engineering consulting leader’s packaging business units as well as anticipated growth in the world packaging industry. According to industry analysts, the global packaging market is projected to grow 3.5% per year to 2020, with sales to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2020.
“In assuming leadership of our packaging group of businesses, Carol will be instrumental to strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing among our packaging divisions in order to enhance the flow of value to our customers every day,” Chapman commented. “Carol’s packaging industry experience and leadership ability will help the businesses build on what has already been accomplished in providing high quality equipment, packaging systems and unparalleled service to the markets we serve.”
O’Neill joined Barry-Wehmiller in 2014 to serve as Vice President of Strategy, Technology and Key Initiatives where she facilitated the examination of Barry-Wehmiller’s long-term strategy and the organizational and technical infrastructure to support this strategy.
Prior to Barry-Wehmiller, O’Neill compiled an impressive background in leadership, manufacturing and packaging, as well as consulting and information technology. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and master’s degrees in business administration and international economic development from Stanford, Carol worked for a management consulting firm in Boston and led productivity improvement efforts at the New York City Transit Authority until she entered the packaging world as Director of Performance Improvement at Sealed Air. In her eleven years at Sealed Air, Carol played many roles including Chief Information Officer and SVP of Business Development. O’Neill left Sealed Air to run a $300 million private food company in Chicago and was enticed back into the packaging industry to run the Packaging division at Spartech (acquired by PolyOne in 2013).
“I am excited and honored by the opportunity to steward the talented teams within our packaging platform,” shared O’Neill. “I am consistently impressed with the depth of their expertise and their ability to be responsive to customers’ needs. I look forward to helping this team achieve new levels of performance.”
Barry-Wehmiller’s packaging platform, which employs more than 3,500 team members, generated revenues of just under $800 million in FY2016.
Recently the company launched its BW Packaging Solutions initiative to streamline the way that it brings to market the expansive breadth of packaging capabilities offered by its equipment and consulting businesses. To find out more, go to bwpackagingsolutions.com.
Privately held Barry-Wehmiller, headquartered in St. Louis, MO (USA), began in 1885 as a small, Midwestern (USA)-based pasteurizer and bottle-washer business. Since 1987, when the company began a robust acquisition strategy, Barry-Wehmiller has experienced significant global growth, acquiring more than 80 additional businesses.