Ascent Industries Appoints J. Bryan Kitchen as President of Ascent Chemicals

Rhea-AI Summary

Ascent Industries appoints J. Bryan Kitchen as president of Ascent Chemicals, bringing two decades of experience in the chemicals industry. Kitchen has a track record of implementing transformational strategies and driving significant improvements in financial and operational performance. Ascent Industries believes his leadership will be crucial in scaling their unique platform and unlocking value through operational excellence and go-to-market initiatives.

OAK BROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ascent Industries Co. (Nasdaq: ACNT) (“Ascent” or the “Company”), an industrials company focused on the production and distribution of industrial tubular products and specialty chemicals, has appointed J. Bryan Kitchen as president of Ascent Chemicals, effective September 18, 2023.

Mr. Kitchen joins Ascent with nearly two decades of senior leadership experience in the chemicals industry, having held management roles for several global industry leaders. Most recently, he served as president, CEO and chairman of the board for Clearon Corp., a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer of essential sanitizers and disinfectants for household, industrial, institutional and water treatment applications. While in this role, Mr. Kitchen crafted and led a transformational strategy to unlock earnings growth and significantly improve cash flow, resulting in the sale of the company for a significant premium.

Prior to Clearon, Mr. Kitchen served as the president of Xingfa USA, a division of Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Ltd, a global leader in specialty phosphates manufacturing, where he built an agriculture segment from scratch while more than doubling the profitability of the core business. He also served as vice president of business operations at ANGUS Chemical Company, which was carved-out from The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW). During his tenure, he successfully led the carve-out transition from Dow and later assumed additional responsibilities for commercial leadership in both China and Latin America. During his time as business operations director for Dow Microbial Control, he drove a number of transformational initiatives that resulted in significant earnings growth. Mr. Kitchen previously spent over a decade in various management roles at Dow AgroSciences and later, Dow Chemical, one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturers.

“As we continue to execute transformational changes across our organization and improve the Company’s operational rigor, we are excited to have a leader like Bryan taking the helm of our specialty chemicals segment,” said Chris Hutter, president and CEO of Ascent Industries. “Over the course of his career, Bryan has proven time and time again he has what it takes to implement and execute upon transformational strategies that result in significant improvements in both financial and operational performance. We also believe his experience in charting and executing durable growth strategies will be crucial as we look to further scale our unique platform. We welcome Bryan to the Ascent team and look forward to the success we believe he will bring.”

“I am delighted to be joining the Ascent team and leading Ascent Chemicals at such a pivotal time,” Mr. Kitchen commented on his appointment. “The Company’s current specialty chemicals footprint, diverse capabilities and innovative personnel provide a strong foundation for growth. I believe significant value can be unlocked through operational excellence and go-to-market initiatives that leverage our unique process development and engineering capabilities, enhancing the value of our customers’ products and processes. I am confident in the Ascent Chemicals team and look forward to unleashing our fullest growth potential.”

Mr. Kitchen is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing from Anderson University.

About Ascent Industries Co.

Ascent Industries Co. (Nasdaq: ACNT) is a company that engages in a number of diverse business activities including the production of stainless steel, the master distribution of seamless carbon pipe and tube, and the production of specialty chemicals. For more information about Ascent, please visit its web site at www.ascentco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable federal securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements can be identified through the use of words such as "estimate," "project," "intend," "expect," "believe," "should," "anticipate," "hope," "optimistic," "plan," "outlook," "should," "could," "may" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and to review the risks as set forth in more detail in Ascent Industries Co.’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC or on our website. Ascent Industries Co. assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information included in this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230918430568/en/

Company Contact

Bill Steckel

Chief Financial Officer

1-630-884-9181

Investor Relations

Cody Slach and Cody Cree

Gateway Group, Inc.

1-949-574-3860

ACNT@gateway-grp.com

Source: Ascent Industries Co.