Change of guard as Nuplex faces heat

Emery Severin says he is looking forward to returning Downunder and to his Barossa Valley vineyard. Photo / Natalie Slade

As the Securities Commission cracks down on listed resins manufacturer Nuplex, the firm's managing director John Hirst is readying himself for retirement after 9 years in the top job.

Emery Severin, his Australian successor (Hirst is Auckland-born but Sydney-based), takes over as chief executive at the end of next week.

The commission has filed civil proceedings against Nuplex and some of its present and former directors.

The commission alleges that between December 2008 and February 2009 Nuplex breached continuous disclosure rules set down by the stock exchange and Securities Markets Act of 1988.

On Wednesday, Hirst said Nuplex and its directors would "vigorously defend" the charges brought by the commission, which would only end up "wasting a lot of taxpayers' money and shareholders' money".

Nuplex's share price dropped more than 5 per cent over the week after news of the proceedings broke, reflecting concern in the market over how the commission's action would affect the firm.

Shares closed down 9c at $3.26 yesterday.

Hirst said the past three years - during which the company had to deal with the impact of the global downturn and a plunging share price - had been a challenging period to lead the firm through.

The new chief executive, he said, would have a whole new set of challenges thrown at him over the next three years.

Hirst said Severin would have little to do with the commission's proceedings, as the alleged breach of continuous disclosure being brought by the watchdog happened well before he joined the company.

Severin, who has a PhD in physical chemistry from Oxford University, comes to Nuplex from Boral, an Australian building and construction materials company, where he was based in Atlanta for the past five years as president of US operations.

Hirst said Severin was chosen after the Nuplex board went through a long list of external and internal candidates.

Severin said the past two years in the role of US president for Boral had been challenging.

"I don't think people in Australasia really realise how bad the housing, building and construction market has been in the US. It's been the worst downturn in 70 years, since the Great Depression really."

Severin agreed he had big shoes to fill at Nuplex, and said Hirst was "quite a legend" in the company.

"It's a nice transition going forward to build on the legacy that [Hirst] has left.

"The balance sheet's in good shape, which means it's an opportunity to take the company to its next level of growth."

That growth, Severin said, would be offshore, where Nuplex already had manufacturing operations based on four continents.

Severin said growth would primarily be in East and South East Asian markets, and possibly Eastern Europe.

Acquisitions were a possibility in the US and Europe.

Asked whether he was nervous about taking over as chief, he said:

"Anybody who's a new CEO of a publicly listed company must have nerves of steel if they are not a little anxious.

Going from being a manager in a large division of a corporation is very different than actually being the CEO and being responsible for the whole organisation and everything involved with it."

Severin said he looked forward to returning Downunder after many years spent in North America, and hoped to get a little more time to spend at his vineyard located in the Barossa Valley of South Australia.