BARNWELL, S.C.— Kronotex USA announced that Ken Peden has resigned his position as COO. Peden joined the company in May 2006 and was a key player in establishing distribution of the Formica Flooring brand throughout the U.S.

“Ken has been a tremendous asset to us over the last four years,” said Norm Voss, Kronotex USA president and CEO. “He is a true leader and has a long track record of success in the industry. “We wish him the best in his new endeavors,” he added, “and are greatly appreciative of the contributions he made to our sales and marketing department during his tenure.”

In response to Peden’s resignation, Travis Bass has been promoted to executive vice president of sales and marketing. A long- time employee of Kronotex, Bass has been an officer of the corporation since its founding in the U.S. in 2000. He most recently served as vice president of national accounts.

In addition, Shane Carpenter has been promoted to vice president of the Kronotex brand, and Fred Giuggio has been promoted to vice president of the Formica Flooring brand. Carpenter joined the company in August 2006 as national sales director for the Kronotex division. He has over 28 years of experience in the flooring industry.

Giuggio joined the company in December 2007 and most recently served as divisional sales manager for the Formica Flooring brand. He has more than 22 years experience in the flooring retail/wholesale business.

“In 2010 and beyond,” Bass said, “we will continue to expand our businesses. Our emphasis will be on the brands through distribution and specialty retail, and private label products through the power retailers. In the short term, we will be tweaking our product assortments in response to consumer preferences, and in the long term we will focus, as a manufacturer, on having the complete range of laminate products to simplify our customers’ buying process.

“My hope is,” he added, “that our customers and potential customers already have this thought, ‘If I choose to buy Kronotex flooring, I know the company behind the products will be easy to deal with, and the products will be stylish, well-made and fairly priced.’ We couldn’t have achieved our position as one of the world’s top laminate manufacturers without having these attributes.”

Regarding some of the things Kronotex must do as a company to get itself where it wants to be in the eyes of the industry, Bass concluded. The mill is well on the way to expanding the capability and capacity of the U.S. factory in Barnwell, S.C., to include an offering of the entire scale of laminate products seen in the U.S. market today.

For more information on Kronotex, call 866.334.9923.