United Grinding North America, Inc. recently announced that current president and CEO, Rodger Pinney, has been elected as vice chairman of the company’s board of directors in conjunction with his planned retirement on April 1, 2014. Terry Derrico will join United Grinding North America, Inc. as its new president and CEO and assume complete responsibility for leading the company’s strategic, tactical, operational, and administrative functions in North America. Derrico will report directly to Stephan Nell, CEO United Grinding Group AG. “United Grinding North America is enjoying unprecedented growth and the company’s future also looks very promising” Pinney said. “I look forward to continuing to serve the organization as vice chairman.” In addition to his board member duties, Pinney plans to actively promote North America based manufacturing. Nell commended Pinney for successfully leading United Grinding North America for 16 years. “Rodger guided the company through various economic climates and market transitions, positioning the company as the best and strongest in the North American grinding business. His unwavering service to the company and its people and passion for the industry will be a continued asset to us as he moves into this new advisory role,” he concluded. Derrico’s overall executive and management-based career spans 27 years, and he has a proven track record in the successful growth of the companies for which he has worked. “I am excited to join this highly dynamic company and the incredibly talented and passionate team that drives it,’’ Derrico said. “United Grinding is a visionary company and I look forward to leading the next stage of its growth and development, both horizontally and vertically in the total grinding solutions market. We will continue to develop innovative technological solutions and responsive services to keep our customers productive and profitable, and most of all, competitive." Derrico spent the past decade in key leadership roles at The Marmon Group LLC, a global Fortune 500 organization with numerous diverse business units that is part of Berkshire-Hathaway, Inc. Most recently, he served as president of the Construction Fasteners Group, having full profit and loss responsibility for the industrial business unit. Prior to The Marmon Group LLC, Derrico worked for Proton Energy Systems, a manufacturer of hydrogen generators and regenerative fuel cell systems, as senior vice president of sales, marketing and business development. He was also president and CEO of Swiss Industrial Group Holdings, Inc., a global packaging organization; chief operating officer of TMC, a manufacturer of automated packaging equipment; and national sales manager for General Electric Fanuc Automation, an industrial computer and software company specializing in factory automation. Early in his career, Derrico served as an apprenticeship toolmaker and worked his way into tool and manufacturing applications engineering positions. According to Nell, Derrico is a perfect fit to lead United Grinding North America, Inc. into the future. "Terry applies a hands-on, results-focused leadership approach and believes in motivating teams around a shared vision,” he said. "We look forward to continued success and growth under his leadership together with his team."