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 | Larry Acquarulo - CEO Founding Foster in 1989, Larry Acquarulo is CEO of Foster Corporation in Putnam, CT. He is a graduate of University of Massachusetts, Lowell MA, (BS in Plastics Engineering), University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (MS in Materials Science), and Kennedy Western University, Thousand Oaks, CA (PhD Engineering Management).Today, Larry Acquarulo holds five U.S. and international patents, with three more patents pending in the fields of nano composites, cross-linkable polymers, lubricated and drug-filled polymers for medical device and industrial applications. A prolific writer, he has had over a dozen technical papers published in leading journals including Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry Magazine, Modern Plastics, Plastics Engineering Magazine, Design News, and Medical Plastics and Biomaterials. His professional memberships include Society of Plastics Engineers (senior member), Connecticut Technology Council, University of Connecticut Insitute of Materials Science Associate, and Vistage (an international organization of CEO’s).
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 | Ken Pickering - President Ken Pickering is the President of Foster Corporation in Putnam, CT. Previously, he was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Foster, and the Director of Operations.
Earlier, Ken had a long career at Polaroid Corporation as Manufacturing Plant Director, SAP Implementation Program Manager, Operations Manager for Reagent Manufacturing, and Manufacturing Manager for Film Coatings Chemical Development. He also was a member of Polaroid’s Worldwide Lean Manufacturing Leadership Team. Before that, Ken was the Supply Chain & Manufacturing Director at Aprilis, Inc.
Ken holds a BS in Chemistry from Bridgewater State College (cum laude), and earned his MS degree in Management from Lesley University (4.0 GPA), writing a thesis on Variability Reduction in Components Manufacturing.
He is a Six Sigma Black Belt Champion and holds memberships in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and Vistage (TEC) International, among other associations.
An avid sportsman, Ken Pickering is an official USSF Soccer Referee.
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 | Gerry Avitable - Director of Sales and Marketing Gerry Avitable is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Foster Corporation. With over 30 years of extensive hands-on experience in the sales of technical products, Gerry has held leadership-related roles in sales of engineering material at both RTP Company and GE Plastics.
His educational background is equally impressive. Gerry holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Gerry will oversee all aspects of the sales and marketing of Foster compounds, supply chain solutions, and application development engineering in the global markets. Gerry will be working directly with customers to support their needs and goals.
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 | Ronn L. Schrader - Director of Quality & Information Technology Ronn L. Schrader is the Director of Quality at Foster Corporation in Putnam, CT, a key position underscoring Foster’s long-range commitment to maintaining the highest industry standards, creating new ones, and becoming the benchmark of quality in specialty compounding.
Ronn holds a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Technology from Middle Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Middle Tennessee State University. He also has an Associates Degree in Industrial Engineering from Nashville State Technical Institute. Adding to these professional credentials, Ronn has earned the designation of a Certified Quality Manager in the American Society for Quality.
Ronn comes to Foster with extensive experience in Quality Management Systems. He was Quality Systems Support Manager at U.S. Smokeless Tobacco in Nashville, Tennessee, before joining Foster Corporation. Prior to his position at U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, Ronn established his career at Comalloy International in Nashville and ABC Technologies in Gallatin, Tennessee.
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 | Anthony Listro - Director of Applications Development Engineering Anthony Listro is the Director of Applications Development Engineering at Foster Corporation in Putnam, CT. Previously, he advanced to Senior Engineering Manager at Judd Wire, Inc., and held research posts at Quantum Chemical Corp. and the University of Lowell Research Foundation.
Tony's degrees include an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, BS and MS in Plastics Engineering from the University of Lowell.
In addition, he as earned professional certification through the MIT short course, "Leading Technical Professionals and Organizations", and "Fundamentals of Finance for the Technical Executive", also at MIT. Tony Listro holds U.S. patents for “Dual Layer Insulation System” and "Melt-Processable, Crosslinkable Coating Composition."
He is a prolific technical writer and lecturer as well, having written, co-authored and delivered several important papers at distinguished scientific and industrial conferences nationwide. He is a member of SPE, the Society of Polymer Engineers.
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