A longtime plastics industry expert has died.
James Snell, who had most recently worked for about three years as project manager for Reifenhauser Inc., Maize, Kan., died suddenly Nov. 19 while visiting with a client. He was 60. Snell, who lived in Orlando, Fla., had worked about 40 years in the industry, longtime friend Reifenhauser Inc. VP Steve DeSpain says.
"Customers around the world loved him," DeSpain says. Snell, who had begun work as a draftsman for John Royal Machinery, moved his way up in the industry, eventually working directly with customers to help them set up, operate and troubleshoot machinery. "That was probably his biggest strength — that he could walk into a customer and put them at ease, that he was there, and everything would be OK."
In addition to his positions at Reifenhauser and John Royal Machinery, Snell worked for a number of other plastics companies, including Western Polymer and Nina Plastics, Orlando, DeSpain says. He is survived by his wife and four children.
