CLEVELAND, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NACCO Industries, Inc. announced today that Dr. Michael J. Morecroft, President and Chief Executive Officer of NACCO's wholly owned subsidiary, Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., will retire on December 31, 2009.
Dr. Morecroft, 67, has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Beach Brands since 2001. He joined what was then Hamilton Beach, which was owned by Glen Dimplex, in 1987 and remained with the company when it was acquired by NACCO Industries, Inc. Dr. Morecroft led Hamilton Beach's product development and engineering activities until 2001 when he became President and Chief Executive Officer.
As part of the company's succession plan, Dr. Morecroft will serve on the Boards of Directors of Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. and The Kitchen Collection, Inc. as Vice Chairman. In these roles, Dr. Morecroft will continue to be active in both companies by supporting their leadership transitions and focusing on strategic issues.
Upon Dr. Morecroft's retirement, Gregory H. Trepp, 47, currently Vice President, Global Operations for Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of NACCO's wholly owned subsidiary, The Kitchen Collection, Inc. will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Beach Brands and will become a member of Hamilton Beach Brand's Board of Directors. Mr. Trepp will also continue as the Chief Executive Officer of The Kitchen Collection, Inc., and as a member of Kitchen Collection's Board of Directors. Mr. Trepp joined Hamilton Beach Brands in January 1996 as Director of Marketing. Since that time, he has held positions of increasing responsibility within Hamilton Beach Brands and Kitchen Collection and brings extensive experience and knowledge of the Company and the industry to his new positions. Mr. Trepp received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Richmond and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut.
Effective January 1, 2010, Robert LeBrun will become the President of The Kitchen Collection Inc. In addition, Alfred M. Rankin, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of NACCO Industries, Inc., will assume the position of Chairman of both the Hamilton Beach Brands and Kitchen Collection Boards of Directors.
Also effective January 1, 2010, Gregory E. Salyers, currently Vice President, Global Operations for Hamilton Beach Brands, will be appointed Senior Vice President, Global Operations, and Scott Tidey, currently Vice President, North America Sales and Marketing for Hamilton Beach Brands will be appointed Senior Vice President, North America Sales and Marketing.
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading designer, marketer and distributor of small electric household appliances, as well as commercial products for restaurants, bars and hotels.
The Kitchen Collection, Inc., headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio, is a national specialty retailer of kitchenware and gourmet foods operating under the Kitchen Collection® and Le Gourmet Chef® store names in outlet and traditional malls throughout the United States.
NACCO Industries, Inc. is an operating holding company with subsidiaries in the following principal industries: lift trucks, small appliances, specialty retail and mining. NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, services and leases a comprehensive line of lift trucks and aftermarket parts marketed globally under the Hyster® and Yale® brand names. The North American Coal Corporation mines and markets lignite coal primarily as fuel for power generation and provides selected value-added mining services for other natural resources companies. For more information about NACCO Industries, visit the Company's website at http://www.nacco.com/.
NACCO Industries, Inc.
CONTACT: Christina Kmetko, Manager - Finance of NACCO Industries, Inc.,
+1-440-449-9669; or MaryBeth Perreault, Senior Manager, Corporate
Communications of Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., +1-804-418-8868
Web Site: http://www.nacco.com/
