Star Team

Tara Chambers, a graduate of Marshall University and native of Ravenswood WV, has worked in the plastics industry for nearly 20 years. She began her sales career in the metals market, selling Foundry and Billet Aluminum for six years. Since 2002, she has been a key resource for customers in specifying engineering and commodity-grade materials into applications. Tara worked her way up in the sales group, becoming the Sr. Account Manager and Sales Leader, and now as the Sales Manager.

As Sales Manager, Tara is responsible for both the inside and outside sales teams, along with continuing to manage her targeted accounts.

Rick Addis is the Sales Manager for the Star Plastics outside sales team, reporting to the Sales Business Director Chuck Hoop. With an MBA from the University of Akron, Rick has held a variety of Sales & Marketing leadership roles over the past 35 years within the Plastics industry.Most recently, Rick was the Director of Sales at GEON, a provider of specialty polymers, where he managed multiple market segment businesses including Automotive, Wire & Cable, and Contract Services.

Rick has a consistent track record of creating and implementing growth strategies, driving a customer-centric sales focus, and providing passionate leadership.

At Star, Rick will be responsible for leading our compounding commercial process to achieve our short- and long-term objectives related to service, revenue and forecast execution. He will work collaboratively with the team to improve sales, customer acquisition and growth processes.

Cheyenne Shankle joins the Star Plastics team as a Business Development Executive. Cheyenne graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Public Policy, with a minor in Business Administration, and immediately put her degree to use by starting her career in polymers at Covestro. While there, she held a variety of positions in functional development areas including sales & account management, business development, sustainability advocacy and analysis, industrial marketing, and product management.

Cheyenne’s technical and business skills, along with her interest in business development, makes her a strong addition to the Star Plastics team. She is experienced with circular economy products and strategies, as well as understanding customers’ needs of product and applications in order to determine how to best meet performance requirements and technical support needs.

As a Business Development Executive, Cheyenne will use her holistic perspective in regard to corporate, economic, regulatory and technical lenses to build relationships with and add value for customers, while also identifying opportunities and potential roadblocks for future business.

Randy Ritchey, a Southern Illinois University graduate, joins the Star Plastics team with nearly 25 years of plastics experience, including OEM new business development and account management. Randy began his career with Polymer Resources as an account manager for fifteen years, growing and developing new business across a five-state region. He has also worked at Nexeo Solutions, handling accounts based on general-purpose materials, as well as custom formulations for compounders and molders.

Randy is well versed with leading customers from the concept stage to completion, following through all at all levels of the manufacturing chain to best support the customers’ needs. This account management experience, along with his familiarity of products and markets, will make him a great asset to the Star Plastics Sales team.

Randy lives near Chicago, Illinois, and will service customers in IL, IA, WI, MN and Northwest Indiana.

Luis Moncada is the newest Star Plastics team member as a Senior Sales Representative. Luis is a veteran sales and business development manager of more than 20 years, with experience in the full cycle of the sales service process. Luis holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Industrial Engineering and recently received an Executive MBA from IPADE Business School. Luis is a driven, results-oriented professional with extensive international and multicultural experience, supporting programs, tooling builds and trials in Asia, North America and Europe.

Prior to joining Star Plastics, Luis held the role of North American Sales Manager for a global leader in plastic compounded solutions where he was responsible for the development and execution of Strategy for North America plastics sales. In this position, he continually exceeded single and double-digit growth targets in both sales’ revenue and gross margin.

As a Senior Sales Representative, Luis will use his resin and application expertise to aid in material selection and help guide customers through the sales process. He also will support Star Plastics’ expansion into the market in Mexico, generating accounts for himself locally, as well as supporting individual Star sellers’ programs.

Melanie Mosser, a Jackson County native, has joined the Star Sales team as an Account Manager. Melanie graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelors of Science, and has held multiple roles in Public Relations, Sales and Education. She gained valuable sales and customer relationship management experience as an Account Executive with a public relations company, and continued this experience as an Inside Sales Representative for an aluminum company. While there, she managed inventory programs, tracked orders, and helped develop market strategies based on customer feedback.

Melanie’s commitment to people, sales experience, communication skills and customer relationship management makes her a great asset to the Star Plastics Inside Sales Team.

As Whitney Whitney is a Ravenswood WV native and has a BA degree from Marshall University in Broadcast Journalism & History. She has held multiple sales and marketing positions in her professional history, including an Account Representative position at The Epic Brands, Personal Coordinator at Mountain State Agency Alliance, and most recently was an Inside Sales Representative at Constellium Rolled Products LLC.

Whitney has experience in building strong, long-lasting relationships with prospects and customers, transparent and consistent customer service communications, as well as experience identifying new opportunities for customers. As Sales Operations Leader, she is responsible for the processes, tools and technologies that support the sales team, working to boost productivity, efficiency and overall impact of sales on business performance.

Tom Ridenbaugh is joining the Star team as a hybrid Inside Sales Account Manager. Tom has various Sales roles in his professional career where he’s gained skills in customer service and leadership, negotiation, and relationship building. He’s also well-versed in helping customers improve and achieve their company goals, whether it’s revenue growth or production efficiency. Tom is familiar with industrial sales, as he was most recently the territory manager for a chemical supply company in North Carolina and a sales representative of a major heavy equipment manufacturer.

With a track record of over 18 years in sales and account management, Tom will be an effective member of the Star inside sales team, working to manage large accounts and grow incremental sales. As a hybrid inside sales account manager, he will also have a small territory covering Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

John Albertson joins the Star Plastics team with a 30+ year history in the plastics industry, with areas of expertise including engineering, R&D, and quality processing along with account management and sales & marketing.

John received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida, and then a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University of Dallas, Texas. He’s been professionally involved with national and international plastic corporations in a variety of roles that make him an expert in the polymers field. Due to this extensive career history, he has a vast understanding of the electrical / electronic market, as well as of engineering grade thermoplastics that go into those and related markets.

As the Market Development Manager, John will work directly with the Director of Sales to develop new markets, as well as guide new materials for emerging technology markets for Star Plastics compounded plastic material sales.

Glenn has been hired as a Senior Sales Rep for the SE territory. He will be responsible for generating new business through direct sales, working with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to specify Star Plastics materials in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia. Glenn received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Zoology and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry with a minor in Graphics Communication from North Carolina University. He received his master’s in business administration from Mid-America Christian University and has spent more than 25 years in the Plastics industry in various R&D, Operations, and Commercial roles.

Scott Blanchard started his career in the plastics industry with Americhem in 2004. He served as corporate marketing and communications manager and specialized in corporate communications, media and public relations and marketing strategy for digital and traditional marketing channels.

Prior to joining Americhem, Blanchard served eight years as marketing and international sales manager for Kirby Company. He also spent time in customer service for Whirlpool Corporation. Most recently, Scott was communications and grants manager for Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio – the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

Blanchard graduated in 1992 from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. In 2001, he completed his Master of Business Administration at Cleveland State University.

Lora Cremeans, a Ripley WV native, has over 20 years experience in the plastics industry and has been a dedicated team member of Star Plastics since 1992. Previous to her work with Star, she received a Business Certificate from Roane Jackson Technical Center and worked at Western Dakota Insurers in Rapid City, South Dakota. We are excited to report that Lora’s role has recently expanded into the tolling business unit as the lead coordinator, working with manufacturing and customer to meet their Tolling needs. This is in addition to her Shipping and Receiving responsibilities.

Jodi Roman, a graduate of Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, has a long history in sales, management, and customer service. Having previously worked at Star Plastics in the early 2000s in a Sales Administrative role, she has since worked in several positions at Mylan Pharmaceuticals in project management before returning to Star. Jodi lives in Morgantown, WV with her husband and three children, and commutes regularly to be with the customer service team in Ravenswood.

As a Customer Service Manager, Jodi focuses on creating and improving systems and processes to help the efficiency of our sales team and order fulfillment. She works closely with our Director of Sales to ensure customer service remains outstanding as we continue to grow.

Julie Cogar, a Ravenswood, WV native, is a leader of our Star Plastics Customer Service team. At her previous position in the retail food industry, Julie filled a wide variety of roles; from inventory and AR management, to day-to-day customer relations and employee training. She has gained invaluable experience in problem solving, communication and coordination with internal and external customers.

Julie is married and has two sons; she volunteers her spare time as the Treasurer for both the local Cub Scouts Pack and Wrestling Club, and enjoys reading, cooking and sewing.

With this array of experience and hands-on knowledge, Julie will be a great fit serving Star’s customers, coordinating with the sales team, and keeping our customers needs ahead of all else!

We are excited to announce that Lauren Hinzman has joined the Star Plastics Customer Service Team for her first experience in the plastics industry. Lauren is also local to Ravenswood, WV and was most recently the Transportation Manager for a D.O.T. Compliance Company. In that role, she monitored processes against regulatory standards and conducted internal reviews, ensuring quality and compliance in her work. Her communication skills developed through working with peers in training and collaboration, as well as working with prospective clients, will translate to outstanding service to our customers.

At Star, Lauren will be joining the Customer Service Team, helping serve our customers’ needs as the Sales team and the company grows.

Sonja Butler has been with Star Plastics for over 15 years, starting as a Purchasing Supervisor, but quickly moving up to Supply Chain Manager for both North America facilities. She began her professional career with Quantum, and then got into technical procurement with Apex Engineering, before joining Star Plastics. Sonja has over ten years experience in supply chain management, scheduling, inventory management, formulation and research; over six years experience in technical procurement and purchasing; and four years in project design in the plastic and chemical fields. She’s also active in the community, coaching soccer for over 10 years.

As the Supply Chain Manager for Star Plastics, Sonja manages scheduling between the two North American facilities, and communicates with Sales and Production concerning issues and ship dates. She is responsible for product formulations, inventory levels of various necessary raw materials, works with the lab on new product developments, and manages the purchasing department.

Kevin Eagle began his professional career at Commissary Operations as the Receiving Supervisor. While there, he was responsible for dealing with shift operations, schedules, evaluations and physical inventory. His experience is also enhanced with Computer Science educational background. Kevin started with Star Plastics in 2009 in Floor Operations, and has been in the Purchasing Department since 2010.

As Star’s Account Representative, Kevin is responsible for the procurement of raw materials to support Custom Compounded Sales and Manufacturing, along with the re-structure and growth of Star’s Material Marketing Division, PolymerVault.

Brandon Humphreys, a graduate of West Liberty University, got his start in the plastics industry with Star Plastics, Inc in 2014. Prior to Star, Brandon worked for Fastenal in Sales, where he handled inside and outside sales, inventory management and store marketing. He also owns and operates his own DJ & Sound Services business, gaining valuable experience in customer service and development. He also enjoys all things motorcycle, firearms, and home renovation.

Brandon began at Star Plastics in Customer Service, and moved to the Purchasing department. He is responsible for handling feedstock purchasing as well as other internal needs such as packaging, pigments and additives.