Dalton – IVC US, the Dalton based manufacturer of fiberglass sheet vinyl, announced last month the promotion of its president Paul Murfin to co-CEO, effective immediately.
Murfin will now share responsibilities with Xavier Steyaert, who has acted as CEO of IVC US for almost eight years. In this unique arrangement, Murfin will mainly focus on further growing IVC’s market presence in North America, while Steyaert will oversee the operational, financial and industrial development of IVC’s North American activities.
Both CEOs have acquired shares of IVC US, the majority being held by its parent company, the IVC Group from Belgium. The share plan signals a long-term commitment to IVC from both Steyaert and Murfin.
“As IVC increases its North American footprint, we have seen the benefit of adding local expertise to the company,” said Jan Vergote, IVC’s group CEO. “In the last 16 months, we have seen the strong and complimentary partnership of Xavier and Paul. The move to have both act as co-CEOs is an exciting one that takes advantage of their mutual skills with the continued aim of doubling our position as soon as possible.”
Murfin joined IVC US in Sept. 2011 and has been charged with expanding IVC’s position in North America after the completion of the group’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dalton. IVC has since expanded into the property management and commercial fields and added notable distributors such as CMH, All Tile and Galleher Corp.
Steyaert has been at the helm of IVC US for many years, growing the company from a new entrant to one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. Most notably, he was the architect of the Dalton project, which houses IVC’s North American headquarters along with a substantial distribution and manufacturing operation. The plant holds the longest sheet vinyl line in the world and has brought almost 200 jobs to the North Georgia region.
“I am thrilled to have been given this tremendous challenge and opportunity by the IVC Group,” said Murfin. “Xavier and I have developed a great working partnership. I could not be happier to have this arrangement formalized and now look forward to working with him to help take IVC US to the next level.”
Steyaert commented, “Paul has added a new dimension to IVC. With everything we want to achieve we can now focus on what both of us do best. We both see the remarkable opportunity this company has and I am happy to confirm my long term commitment to IVC US and to work with Paul to achieve our common goals.”