KoSa revamps fibers business after Koch buys out co-owner
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, December 3, 2001
HOUSTON — Polyester producer KoSa has restructured its textiles fibers business following the completion of its ownership change this month.
Koch Inds., previously a 50% shareholder, purchased the 50% stake held by Mexico's IMASAB S.A. de C.V.
"KoSa will remain a separately managed company and will be completely independent of Koch Inds.," said KoSa Chairman Bill Caffey. Koch, based in Wichita, Kan., owns a diverse group of companies engaged in trading, investment and operations worldwide.
Eduardo Rocha, KoSa vice president and general manager, textile fibers, has stepped down as the business leader but will remain a senior member of the staff of George Gregory, chief executive officer.
KoSa is dividing its textile fibers business into three segments: nonwovens, filament and fine denier staple.
Nonwovens will join the other specialty industrial fibers in the technical fibers business group headed by Thomas Kehl, the group's vice president and general manager. The filament segment, managed by Mario Fonesca, now reports to Thomas Fahnemann, vice president and general manager, intermediates, polymers and filament. The fine denier staple segment, now managed by Marco Espinosa, reports to Carlos Sierra, business director of packaging resins and fine denier staple.
Gregory said the ownership change "will have a positive effect on KoSa. Having one owner provides KoSa with more accountability and a faster decision-making process, which will allow the company to better serve its customers and respond to the marketplace."
KoSa's global headquarters will remain in Houston, with regional headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.; Frankfurt, Germany; and Mexico. KoSa, a producer of commodity and specialty polyester fibers, polymers and intermediates, employs about 8,000 people around the world.
As first reported in eDaily
