The Shadow
WestRock’s Alleghany Highlands Operations has announced position changes that were internally announced in January and February.
James Saylor has accepted the position of operations supervisor at the Low Moor converting plant.
In this position, he is responsible for overseeing and optimizing operations for the sheeters, cartonizer, and custom winders.
Saylor graduated from Alleghany County High School and obtained his AAS in Pulp and Paper Technology from Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1981 to 1985.
In 1985 Saylor accepted the position of assistant operator in Extrusion Coating at the Low Moor converting plant and progressed through several positions, ending as converting plant operator in 1987. He accepted a salary position as production foreman in 1997.
Saylor accepted the position of scheduler for the extruders and custom winders in 2004. In 2007 he moved into Warehouse Operations as a materials planner. He was promoted to warehouse supervisor in 2014.
Hans McCarthy has accepted the position of engineer — Bleach Room.
In this position, McCarthy is responsible for initiating cost savings projects, aiding the bleach plant validator on shutdowns, and monitoring key performance indicators in the Bleach Room to identify and solve operational issues.
McCarthy earned his B.S. in Paper Engineering from SUNY (State University of New York) College of Environmental Science and Forstry in 2019.
McCarthy worked as a process engineer co-op at WestRock, Solvay, N.Y., from June 2017 through January of 2018. He also worked at Neenah Technical Materials as a filtration engineer in 2018. In 2019 McCarthy joined WestRock as a process engineer in the Fiberline.
Jason Arthur has accepted the position of process control lead.
In this position, he is responsible for overseeing daily activities in the process control department, developing maintenance strategies to maximize reliability and minimize cost, develop and execute long-range capital plans for process control, and simplify and streamline the process control platform.
Arthur earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in 2002. He worked at the Covington mill as a summer student while in college, interning the summers of 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.
Arthur joined the mill full time as a process control engineer in the process control department in 2002. He transferred in 2005 to the E&I department as an electrical engineer and accepted the position of E&I maintenance planner for the Power department in 2007.
In February 2009 Arthur joined process control as a senior electrical engineer and was promoted to senior engineer in 2012.
Andrew Parker has accepted the position of process engineer in the Process Control department.
In this position, Parker is responsible for maintaining and programming the Distributed Control Systems in the Bleach Room, CLO2 plant, and Beater Room.
Parker earned a B.A. in Music Education from James Madison University in 2013, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2019.
In 2014 Parker accepted the position of band director for Alleghany High School. From 2016 to 2019, he worked as a math tutor in Roanoke and Blacksburg. In June of 2019 Parker worked as a co-op at the mill through the summer and fall terms.
Samantha Posten has accepted the position of Area Maintenance Supervisor — General Mill Services.
In this position, she is responsible for overseeing lubrication, Tour Maintenance, building trades, and railroad maintenance.
Posten worked at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. from 2005 to 2012 before joining Allstate Insurance as senior sales producer in 2012. In 2016 she accepted the position of maintenance data analyst through ManPower at the Covington mill.
Posten joined WestRock in 2017 as a maintenance planner — intermediate. In 2019 she accepted the position of tour foreman.
John Mullineaux has accepted the position of OMSL at the Covington mill.
In this position, he is responsible for coordinating and monitoring all outbound freight activity for mill shipping departments and local warehouses, supporting machine production and scheduling processes, correcting any errors during the production and shipping processes, and managing mill warehouse finished goods and in process inventories.
Mullineaux earned two A.A.S. degrees in Computer Network Technology and Telecommunications from ECPI University. He began his career at Pendum, LLC as first line plus/second line field services technician in March 2008. In August 2013 he began working for Manpower as a computer operator and materials planner at the Low Moor converting plant.
In 2017 Mullineaux accepted the position of materials planner for the Low Moor converting plant.
Stacy Boguess has accepted the position of transportation supervisor in the Supply Chain department.
In this position, Boguess is responsible for managing day-to-day shipping operations, aligning local supply chain requirements with Corporate Logistics, Customer Service, and Ware-housing groups, and troubleshooting shipment issues.
She is also responsible for supporting system testing and training needs, processing invoices for vendors, and supporting shipping operations.
Boguess graduated from Alleghany High School in 2001 with and Advanced Studies diploma, and four certificates in business from Jackson River Technical Center. She earned her Associates degree in Business Administration in 2019 from Southern New Hampshire University.
In 2002 Boguess accepted a position with Manpower at the Low Moor converting plant as an office assistant. In 2008, still with Manpower, she accepted a position at the Covington mill in the traffic department.
Boguess joined MWV and returned to Low Moor in 2010 as a production scheduler. In 2012 she accepted the position of Score/OMSL at the Covington mill.
John Stec has accepted the position of extrusion technical lead at the Low Moor converting plant.
In this position, he focuses on new and existing product development, operational effectiveness, capacity utilization, product design, trial planning and execution, and raw material improvements.
Stec will also provide technical direction and support for safety, production, reliability, and quality, as well as institutionalizing continual improvement and productivity efforts.
Stec received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1977. That same year he accepted the position of project engineer for Hercules Inc., in Covington.
Stec advanced through various positions over the years including process improvement engineer, coating area supervisor, and tower area supervisor.
In 2007 Stec accepted the position of extrusion engineer with MWV at the Low Moor converting plant.
Barbara Smith has accepted the position of warehouse supervisor at the Low Moor converting plant.
In this position, she is responsible for all aspects of managing the warehouse.
Smith began her career with Westvaco at the Covington mill in September 1995 as a senior accountant in the Finance department. In 1999 she accepted the position of salvage winder scheduler in Production, Planning, and Control, where she also held the positions of load planner, machine scheduler, and TP&E administrator.
Smith joined the SCORE project team as lead training coordinator in 2007 and accepted the temporary position of PM/Meridium administrator in 2013.
Smith moved to an OMSL position in 2013, and worked in that area until she accepted the warehouse coordinator position at Low Moor in 2014.
Kim Andrews has accepted the position of warehouse services coordinator at the Low Moor converting plant.
In this position, she is responsible for material planning and inventory control. Andrews will also act as a liaison between the load center, account representatives, and plant management to ensure customer orders are filled and shipped in a timely manner.
Andrews began her career with Westvaco in August 1987 as an operator on No. 1 Custom Winder.
Over the years, Andrews progressed through all Low Moor departments and job grades, ending as an extrusion operator. In 2007 Andrews accepted a position as system support operator with the SCORE team.
