GreenMantra Technologies, a rapidly growing producer of high-value waxes and other specialty materials from recycled plastics, today announced three key additions to its senior leadership group designed to drive its ongoing growth strategy.
 
·      Kousay Said, a chemical industry veteran with expertise in leading both technology startups and established global chemical businesses, has been named president and chief executive officer.
·      Ryan L’Abbe, experienced in operations, business management and business expansion strategies across multiple industries, has been named vice president, operations.
·      Domenic Di Mondo, an inorganic chemist withexpertise in polymer chemistry, catalysis and conversion of waste materials to higher value products, has been promoted to technical director.
 
Both L’Abbe and Di Mondo report to Said and will serve as members of the company’s executive leadership team.
 
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead GreenMantra Technologies through its next phase of accelerated growth, as we scale up our new manufacturing plant and continue to add product offerings,” Said commented. “I am equally gratified to have Ryan and Domenic on our executive team. Each brings a wealth of business experience and technical expertise that will strengthen our ability to balance growth, quality, profitability and the needs of our customers and the marketplace.”
 
Said joins GreenMantra from Sirrus, Inc., a manufacturer of high performance monomers, where he served as chief commercial officer. He previously was an independent advisor to private equity firms and companies in the chemicals, oil and gas, renewable energy, building materials and telecom industries. His career includes 18 years as a senior executive at Dow Chemical Company, where he served in commercial leadership roles in that company’s automotive, building solutions and solar businesses. Said studied mechanical engineering at the University of Baghdad and Wayne State University and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Oakland University. He is a graduate of The Wharton School of Business’s Executive Development and Leadership Institute programs. He also serves as a member of the  Board of Trustees at the SAE Foundation.
 
L’Abbe comes to GreenMantra from Ice River Springs – bottled water, where he served as vice president and general manager of its Blue Mountain Plastics Division and as a member of the company’s executive committee. He has an extensive background in the beverage, recycling and automotive sectors, with significant expertise in both operations and human resources management. He previously served in management roles at Labatt Breweries and Ford Motor Company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a master’s degree in industrial relations from Queen’s University, as well as post-graduate certificates from Harvard Law School and The Master’s Brewers Association of America.
 
Di Mondo has been with GreenMantra since its formation in 2010, serving as research and development manager and overseeing the scale-up of the company’s proprietary catalytic technology from the lab to the company’s pilot facility and on through commercialization. He is an inorganic synthetic chemist with specialization in high temperature and pressure catalysis. Prior to joining GreenMantra, Di Mondo worked to develop and evaluate new technologies for transforming sugar alcohols derived from biomass into higher value fine chemicals. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical science and a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Guelph (Ontario), and is the co-author of numerous scientific papers focused on catalysis and related topics.
 
GreenMantra Technologies utilizes a proprietary catalytic system and patented process to cost-effectively transform recycled plastics into high-value waxes, greases, lubricants and other specialty chemicals. These materials have a broad range of applications in the coatings, plastics, adhesives, roofing and paving industries. GreenMantra’s first-generation products include custom wax formulations and drop-in replacement waxes that are used in the production of roofing shingles, rubber, coatings, asphalt, and plastic color masterbatch. Other markets include engineered wood, plastics extrusion, hot melt adhesives, textiles, inks, cabling, drilling fluid and lubricants.
 
Unlike traditional waxes produced from crude oil, natural gas or coal, the company’s unique feedstock of recycled plastics and its proprietary manufacturing process enables it to cost-effectively produce high quality, high value waxes and other specialty materials in an environmentally positive manner. The company is finding a growing role as an additional supplier source in the $10 billion global wax materials market, where demand historically has significantly outstripped supply.
 
GreenMantra is finalizing construction of a new, state-of-the-art modular manufacturing plant in Brantford, Ontario. Upon completion later this spring, the plant will significantly expand GreenMantra’s production capacity for existing and new products, while demonstrating on a commercial scale the small plant footprint and modular capability of its technology.
 
“GreenMantra is uniquely positioned to address many of the challenges associated with petroleum based waxes, such as constrained supply, volatile pricing and environmental impacts,” Said said. “Our company is growing rapidly – we more than doubled our sales last year – and our new plant will enable us to continue to grow to serve our customers.”