Local manager resigns

March 17, 2008 11:54 pm

— By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
Steve Westfall has resigned as president and chief executive officer of EaglePicher Technologies in Joplin, corporate officials disclosed Monday.
Friday was his last day on the job. He has taken a job with Detroit Tool Metal Products in Lebanon, Mo. Employees of Detroit Tool Metal Products said the company was not yet releasing any information about his position or when he will start.
Westfall did not return a message left on his cell phone Monday, but in an e-mail, he said he would be reachable at Detroit Tool Metal Products as of April 2.
In a written statement to the Globe, David Treadwell, president and chief executive officer of EaglePicher Corp., EP Technologies’ parent company, said Westfall will be the CEO of Detroit Tool Metal Products and will take an ownership role.
Treadwell said he would act as EaglePicher Technologies president until a replacement for Westfall is found.
According to EaglePicher records, Westfall was named president and CEO of EaglePicher Technologies on Dec. 1, 2005. Before that, he had been executive vice president and general manager, chief operating officer for EP Technologies, and president of EaglePicher Pharmaceutical Services.
He has master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Pittsburg (Kan.) State University.
Westfall lived in Joplin at the time he was named president and CEO, and that played a large part in moving the company’s headquarters from Phoenix, Ariz., to Joplin soon after he became CEO. He was part of the leadership team that led the company through bankruptcy and its restructuring in 2006.
Detroit Tool Metal Products is a full-service, precision-metal stamping and fabrication company for a variety of markets including appliances, agriculture, consumer products, trucking, heavy equipment and recreational products. It has been in Lebanon for more than 60 years.
According to the Detroit Tool Metal Products Web site, the company was formed in 1947 as Laclede Metal Products Co. It originally was formed to manufacture pole-line anchors for Jasper Blackburn Co.
Hoovers, an online business directory, lists the company as having 350 employees and $60 million in sales for 2007.
In 1995, Detroit Tool Metal Products underwent a 55,000-square-foot expansion. It added 30,000 square feet two years later, when the company purchased its press plant. The business currently has 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space and is located at 949 Bethel Road in Lebanon.

Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.