Polaris Laboratories adds field services, expands sales team

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Polaris Laboratories, an oil and coolant analysis laboratory, has announced that it has developed a field services division and increased its national sales team coverage to provide even broader access to its network of technical services and customer support. The expansion introduces a new vice president of sales, a director of field services, five new territory account managers and an inside sales coordinator.

  • Brett Minges, vice president of sales, has extensive fluid analysis and sales experience with multiple nationally recognized companies. Most recently, Minges was area general manager for Stewart & Stevenson, a distributor for Detroit Diesel and Allison products. He also has been general manager for Oklahoma Operations for a Cummins distributor, marketing manager for Ferodo America, a national account manager for Fleetguard, and a partner in Lubricon, a fluid analysis laboratory once based in Indiana. Minges is located at Polaris’ headquarters in Indianapolis.
  • Walt Huysman, director of field services, is a certified lubrication specialist and oil monitoring analyst who joined Polaris as its Northeast and Midwest territory sales manager in 2002. Huysman brings extensive technical expertise in program management and root cause failure analysis to the new Polaris Field Services Division. The new division will focus on assisting customers with training, lubrication surveys and assessments, sampling and contamination control, identifying fluid analysis program goals and failure analysis. Huysman is based in Pittsburgh.
  • Linda Pascali, Northeast territory sales manager, brings to Polaris 20 years of analytical laboratory testing experience. Pascali began her career as a medical technologist where she acquired a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science. Additionally, she has more than 10 years of experience in the oil and oil analysis industries as a technical sales representative for Shell Oil, a lubricants distributor for Neslo Petroleum, and a chemist for Mobil Oil. Pascali is based in Philadelphia.
  • David Ryan, Southeast territory sales manager, has spent the past 20 years in the lubricants industry with Castrol and Chevron in sales, sales management and training with an emphasis on oil analysis. Ryan’s sales and training experience is supported by 10 years with a Caterpillar dealer as a technician, service manager and sales representative, and two years as a product support representative with a John Deere construction and forestry equipment dealer. Ryan is based in Charlotte, N.C.
  • Christine Furlong, Midwest territory sales manager, brings to Polaris more than 19 years of sales experience, most recently as both an OEM corporate account manager and a heavy duty commercial and industrial product sales manager for Valvoline, a division of Ashland. While at Valvoline, Furlong managed national and international OEM private label and Valvoline branded lubricants, antifreeze and chemical programs. She also was responsible for sales territory management for both Castrol Oil (now BP Lubricants) and Steuart Petroleum. Furlong is based in Chicago.
  • Robert Chumley, Southwest territory sales manager, is a certified lubrication specialist and oil monitoring analyst with more than 30 years of sales, training and laboratory experience. He has provided oil analysis training and field services to reliability professionals, manufacturers, marketers, fleet owners and mechanics around the world as a lubrication consultant for ExxonMobil. Chumley joined the Polaris sales team in 2004 and is based in Houston.
  • Cathy Smith, Western territory sales manager, has 15 years experience in outside sales and account management. Smith was a sales representative and automotive brand manager for Siegel Oil Co. of Denver for eight years, specializing in oil, lubricant and chemical sales. With a strong background in communications, marketing and training from her sales experience with Hallmark Cards and Frito-Lay, she will be an important asset to Polaris’ business plans for the western United States. Smith is located in Denver.
  • Elaine Walsh, inside sales coordinator, joined Polaris in 2003 as a customer service representative. Walsh has 28 years of customer service management experience for OEM manufacturers and has held positions in both customer service and sales for Polaris, moving to inside sales in 2005. Walsh is located at Polaris’ headquarters in Indianapolis.
  • For more information, go to www.polarislabs.com.