Wescast Recruits Chief Operating Officer

Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, ON, has named Rick Legate as its new chief operating officer. He also will named to the company’s board of directors. With seven plants in Canada and the U.S., as well as China, Germany, Hungary, and Japan, Wescast calls itself “the world’s leading supplier of cast-iron exhaust manifolds for passenger cars and light trucks.” The company designs, casts, machines, and assemble exhaust-system components for automakers and its Tier 1 suppliers. Legate is a graduate of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, ON, and of the executive program at Queen's University in Kingston, ON. He has past experience as a COO and CEO of privately held and publicly trade auto-parts manufacturers, most recently the vice president of Dofasco's tubular products group. He also is a past director of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Assn. "We are delighted to add Rick to the executive leadership team at Wescast," sated Wescast chairman and CEO Ed Frackowiak. "Rick brings with him a solid operational focus with strengths in lean manufacturing processes and creative problem solving, making him a strong fit with our continuous improvement culture. We also look forward to the contributions Rick can make at both the executive and board levels as we continue to execute our global strategy."