Paul Caprio has been named president of LS Mtron for the U.S. and Canada and added as a member of the board of directors for North America, effective Feb. 1.
Caprio joined LS Mtron in 2023 as president of sales, as the company began an aggressive push into the North American market. He replaces Peter Gardner, who announced in August he was transitioning to retirement.
“LS Mtron is a tremendous manufacturer of injection molding machinery,” Caprio said in a press release. “The North American market has been very open to having a new high-quality supplier competing for their business. Competition makes everyone better, and the ultimate winner is the customer.
“The products coming out of Korea are the best in class and also the best overall value. This goes for automobiles, appliances, electronics and injection molding machines. Molders in North America have welcomed LS Mtron with open arms, and our very fast growth to achieve 10 percent market share speaks volumes to this fact,” he said.
It’s Caprio’s third stint as president of a North American plastics machinery company. He spent 25 years at KraussMaffei Corp., serving as president from 2009 to 2019, then two years at the helm of Engel North America.
He told Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing in 2023 that he expected to retire after leaving Engel, but was lured back into the business by Gardner.
“Pete called me and said ... ‘I would like you to come out of retirement, because we’re going to have some fun here.’ He explained what was happening at LS and the story behind [the] business, and it sounded very interesting. And my wife said I was under her feet at home, so she said, ‘Go back to work.’”
At the time of that PMM interview, he said his goal for LS Mtron in North America was “to be a major player... and major means 20 percent. It’s not going to take 25 years. It’ll go very quick.”
In 2023, that share stood around 5 percent. In 2025, the company exceeded the 10 percent mark, and is now focused on reaching 20 percent. Officials have also discussed eventually building machines in the U.S.
Chai-Ho Shin, global CEO of LS Mtron, said in a statement: “LS Mtron was very fortunate to bring Paul Caprio out of retirement three years ago. He has so many connections in this industry and this gives us an opportunity to tell the LS story about our very strong history in the plastics industry. Paul’s experience is invaluable, and we are glad to promote him to be our president here.”
With headquarters in Duluth, Ga., LS Mtron sells injection molding machines made by its South Korean parent company, LG Corp.
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Lynne Sherwin
Managing Editor
Managing editor Lynne Sherwin handles day-to-day operations and coordinates production of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing’s print magazine, website and social media presence, as well as Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She also writes features, including the annual machinery buying survey. She has more than 30 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.