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The K-Tron Process Group’s Director of Global Marketing Kathy Hunter has retired following 20 years with the company. In her role as a member of the Powder Show (now PTXi) advisory group, Kathy came to be known and admired widely by her peers in the industry. You can see Joe Taylor’s online video interview with Kathy at this year’s PTXi show.

She was also active in the Process Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) and was a familiar figure to those attending shows and K-Tron sponsored feeding and pneumatic conveying technology seminars serving the food, pharmaceutical, plastics, chemical and other process industries.

At her retirement luncheon, K-Tron Sales and Marketing V.P. Robert Barnett (see photo) recounted Kathy’s career at K-Tron and her many accomplishments. He recalled how she came to K-Tron from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) where she was director of the Management Institute.

Kathy said her transition from academia to industrial marketing seemed like a steep climb when she arrived. At the time K-Tron was introducing the first digital feeder controls, and Kathy said it took some concentrated effort to get comfortable with the constantly evolving feeder technology. During her career at K-Tron she helped launch innovative products such as modular volumetric and gravimetric feeders, the Smart Force Transducer, the Smart Weigh Belt Feeder, and the Bulk Solids Pump (BSP). She played a key role in transitioning the K-Tron Feeder Group into the K-Tron Process Group with the acquisition of Premier Pneumatics in 2006.

Although she is retiring, Kathy says she plans to remain active in the process equipment arena. After she takes some time off to visit with her son’s and daughter’s families and especially “spend more time with the grandchildren,” she says she will be doing some consulting. So while her garden in Cherry Hill, NJ may get a little more attention this summer, Kathy fully expects to keep on tending to the abundant garden of friends and interests she has developed over 20 years in the process equipment industry.

Don Dunnington
Moderator