Effective April 1, 2013 Kuraray America, Inc. will add a new business unit to its portfolio, the PVOH BU, which will include three different Kuraray product lines: PVOH, PVB and TROSIFOL PVB films. Bob Chvala will become the VP & GM of the PVOH BU and Scott Landon will become the PVOH Plant Manager.

Chvala joined Kuraray in April 2001 as the EVALCA Director of Automotive Sales. In 2007, he was promoted to VP Sales, EVAL BU, and in 2009 Bob expanded his responsibilities to include General Manager of Resins & Chemicals. He brings a background of over 30 years in plastics and chemicals to this role, including positions with Textron Automotive, BASF and GE Plastics in key roles in Sales, Marketing, Business and Product Management. Chvala earned a B.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Scott Landon joined Kuraray in 2005 as a Sr. Principal Engineer at the EVALCA plant located in Pasadena, Texas. In 2008, he was promoted to Production Manager, EVAL BU, responsible for the safe production of EVAL copolymers in the world’s largest EVOH plant. Landon joined Kuraray from Rhodia where he was a Sr. Engineer. Previous to Rhodia, Landon spent thirteen years with DuPont in key assignments. Scott brings to the PVOH BU 23+ years of experience in chemical and polymer manufacturing including: operations management, manufacturing, environmental treatment, plant technical support, non-domestic plant start-up, budgeting, capital projects, SH&E, and maintenance. Scott earned a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee.

The new Kuraray PVOH plant is slated for completion in late 2014, with commercial operations to begin in early 2015. For information on available positions and careers, please contact: careers@kuraray.com.