Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Thomas Davis has taken the helm as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Langston Corp., the Cherry-Hill, New Jersey-based equipment supplier. Most recently the executive vice president at Ward Machinery in Cockeysville, Maryland, Davis' first agenda item at Langston will be meeting customer needs.

The change in leadership at Langston comes shortly after a change in ownership for the company. As reported in the July issue of Boxboard Containers International, the supplier was recently acquired by Langston Acquisition Corp., a BancBoston Capital portfolio company. The company was previously owned by the United Kingdom-based Molins PLC.

Davis believes with new ownership and leadership the company is positioned to meet challenges. "It's a new day in the history of a great company that has a long-standing tradition in the corrugated industry," he said.

Davis was part of that tradition as he began his career in the corrugated industry with Langston as a sales engineer in 1977. After advancing to sales manager, he joined Ward Machinery in 1986. He has now come full circle in returning to his former company and admits there was some "sentimental link" to his position change.

In Davis' 11-year hiatus from Langston, the company has seen some changes. "The core of the company hasn't changed," Davis recalled. "However, having gone through a period of absentee ownership, the company's culture has continued to evolve. But that's part of the reason I find it so exciting. We now have a chance to keep our focus on our market, on our customers and on our customers' customers. We can devote our effort to serving them and not to the distractions of an absentee owner."

Part of sharpening this focus has Davis reviewing all departments within the company to ascertain the best way to serve Langston's customers. One of Davis' goals is to make it easier for customers to do business with the supplier by streamlining operations.

"We are looking at changes to improve our delivery systems both for our products and services," Davis explained. "We also understand that we need to focus on our employees and provide them with the tools they need to ensure that they are able to meet our customers" requirements as quickly as possible."

Despite the fact that Davis steps into his new position during a rough economic period for many suppliers in the corrugated industry, his outlook remains positive. "When economic factors are down, I think it provides all of us with an opportunity to refocus ourselves on the fundamentals and to make sure that we get ourselves positioned for the future," he explained.

Davis is accustomed to investing in the future of the industry through his involvement as a board member of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF), which raises money for corrugated education and equipment donations to packaging schools. He will continue to remain actively involved with the foundation in his new position at Langston.

Through his ICPF work, customer-focused philosophy and positive outlook, Davis hopes to do his share in strengthening the corrugated industry. As for Langston, he plans to position the company to anticipate and work with customers as they evolve in the future.