COVINGTON, VIRGINIA – WestRock’s Alleghany Highlands Operations announces position changes that were internally announced in October and November 2022.
Kevin Baker accepted the position of foreman for No. 1 Paper Machine. In this role he is responsible for managing safety, quality, availability, troubleshooting, and directing the machine crew on shift.
Baker graduated from Greenbrier East High School in 2004. He graduated with an A.A.S. in Forest Management from Glenville State in 2007. He began his career with Clear Creek Forest Management as a forest technician in 2007. He joined the Greenbrier Hotel in 2010 in room service. Baker joined WestRock in 2013 on No. 1 Paper Machine as cleanup/utility assistant, progressed to fifth assistant in 2014, and later that year to fourth assistant. He made third assistant in 2019.
Jim Hebb accepted the position of lead project engineer in the Engineering department. In this position, Hebb is responsible for coordinating the safety, planning, organizing, and completion of capital projects primarily in the paper machine areas.
Hebb earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University in 2007. He joined Verso’s Luke mill as machine coating prep process engineer in 2008 before transferring to Nos. 8 and 9 Paper Machine as dry-end technical assistant in April 2010. In September 2010, Hebb assumed the role of wet-end technical assistant on
Nos. 8 and 9 Paper Machine, and in 2012, he accepted the position of technical assistant on No. 9 Paper Machine. Hebb joined the Covington mill in December 2015 as the dry-end engineer on the No. 1 Paper Machine, and in December 2017 transferred to the position of operations supervisor for No. 8 Paper Machine. He was promoted to No. 8 Paper Machine superintendent in 2019 and accepted the position of assistant superintendent of No. 1 Paper Machine in 2021.
Tanner Williams accepted the position of engineer in the Recovery department. In this position, Tanner is responsible for daily operations, safety, quality, reliability, and associated improvement projects of the slaker, recausticizers, and lime kiln systems.
Williams earned his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Fairmont State University, in Fairmont, WV, in 2022. He completed co-op terms in 2019, 2020, and 2021 with the West Virginia Division of Highways – District 7. He also worked part-time with Tribute Contracting & Consultants LLC as a skilled laborer from November 2018 through January 2022. Beginning in April 2022, Williams worked part-time at Whitman Requardt and Associates in the Construction Management & Inspection (CMI) division. His position became full-time employment upon graduation in May 2022.
Brian Gingerich accepted the position of operations manager – Forest Resources for the Covington mill. Gingerich will closely coordinate with Woodyard personnel to manage on-site inventories, and balance yard roundwood and chip shipments with expected weekly purchases. He is responsible for operations at satellite facilities and will continue his previous responsibilities for fixed-location sourcing, including purchases from sawmills and chip mills.
Gingerich received his B.S. degree in Forest Resources Management in 1980 from West Virginia University. He also received an A.A.S. degree in Pulp and Paper Technology from DSLCC. He began his career with Westvaco in 1979 as a co-op student, working for the company logging crew. He accepted a position at the Gauley Woodyard in Rupert, WV, as second-shift wood buyer in 1980. He was promoted to procurement forester at the Highland Woodyard in Monterey, VA, in 1981. Gingerich worked as the Covington local district senior forester from 1985 to 1995, when he accepted the position of chip buyer. He was promoted to sawmill chip, sawdust, and bark procurement supervisor in the Wood department in 2011.
Charles Carper accepted the position of tour maintenance foreman. In this position, he is responsible for coordinating tour maintenance activities and ensuring adherence to safe work practices and guidelines.
Carper graduated from Covington High School in 1993 and began his pipefitter apprenticeship with Local Union 491 in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1994. He graduated their apprentice program to journeyman pipefitter in 1999. Carper joined AET Films in Covington in 2004 as a maintenance mechanic and was later promoted to supervisor. He then worked as a contract construction manager for the MWV Engineering department from 2008 to 2011 when he was hired at MWV’s Covington mill as a pipefitter and began training in the multicraft apprenticeship as a millwright. He graduated as a millwright journeyman in 2014.
Josh Norman accepted the position of superintendent – No. 1 Paper Machine. In this position, he will be responsible for the daily operations of No. 1 Paper Machine, including safety, housekeeping, quality, reliability, and production.
Norman earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering Technology from Fairmont State University in 2012. In 2008, he stacked lumber for the Mullican Lumber Company, and from 2009 to 2011, he was a co-op for WVDOT DOH as a surveying crew assistant. Norman joined the Covington mill in 2012 as a process engineer in the Technical department and was assigned to No. 2 Paper Machine. In 2014, he accepted the position of dry-end engineer on No. 2 Paper Machine, and in 2016 he accepted the position of maintenance validator for No. 2 Paper Machine.
Norman was promoted to No. 2 Paper Machine wet-end engineer in 2019, and to No. 2 Paper Machine superintendent in 2021.
Conor Chadwick accepted the position of controller in the Finance department. In this position, he is responsible for the development and tracking of operating plans, estimates, and strategic initiatives to support the mill’s achievement of financial commitments, as well as providing guidance on strategic decisions. Conor will provide finance expertise and leadership for the Covington and Low Moor facilities, by partnering with leaders and employees to support the finance function as well as influence positive business and financial outcomes.
Conor received his B.S. in Finance from Penn State University in May 2015, and his MBA with an accounting specialization in 2021 from Ohio University. He joined the Covington mill as a financial analyst in September 2015. Conor was promoted to senior financial analyst in August 2017 and lead financial analyst in 2018. Conor accepted the position of finance manager in 2021.
