Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 22, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 7 Primetals names new CEO of U.S. operation Metal manufacturer Primetals Technologies in January named Yoshiharu Ikeda as its new president and CEO for the company's U.S. head- quarters based in Worcester. Ikeda was promoted to the post after serving as head of strategy and com- munication in the company's London head- quarters since its founding in 2015. His predecessor, Satoru Iijima, took a position at the regional headquarters in Hiroshima. Wegmans to open Natick Mall store in April New York-based Wegmans Food Markets is set to open its massive 146,500-square-foot supermarket in the Natick Mall on April 29. The two-floor location will employ 225 full-time and 325 part-time work- ers. There are still job openings to fill. This will be the chain's second Central Massachusetts location, follow- ing the Wegmans at Northborough Crossing. Zubretsky's new firm closes Worcester site Behavioral and mental health services organization Pathways by Molina, a subsidiary of California-based Molina Healthcare and former Hanover Insurance CEO Joseph Zubretsky's new employer, is closing its Worcester and Springfield locations. Pathways on March 6 will close the two sites, which will affect 162 workers, according to filings with the state, including 56 workers in Worcester. In October, Molina Healthcare named Zubretsky as its new president and CEO just 16 months after he took the same title at Hanover. According to the company's financial filings on its website, Molina lost $97 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30 and was down $250 million for the year. Rotman's new firm buys Rotman's distribution firm An Atlanta rubber latex product manufacturer that moved to Worcester in January has acquired a business enti- ty owned by furniture executive Steve Rotman less than a month after Rotman was named CEO of the Atlanta firm. Vystar Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire NHS Holdings, LLC., owned by Rotman, for $1.5 million. That price is an 85-percent discount from the enti- Join the Worcester Business Journal for a NEW YEAR'S NETWORKING PARTY and AWARDS CELEBRATION! Register today and don't miss this opportunity to mix and mingle with the region's Best Of Business! The Best Of Business Awards event that is! Thursday January 25, 2018 Beechwood Hotel, Worcester 5:00 – 7:00PM • Cost: $35 Pre-registration is required. www.wbjournal.com/BOBawards Start the New Year off with BOB! BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Presenting Sponsor Supporting Sponsors REGISTER TODAY! IPG Photonics (Oxford) $214.13 116.9% Virtusa (Westborough) $44.08 75.5% SeaChange International (Acton) $3.63 71.6% Ameresco (Framingham) $8.60 56.4% Waters Corp. (Milford) $193.19 43.8% Hanover Insurance Group (Worcester) $108.08 18.8% Boston Scientific (Marlborough) $24.79 14.6% Hologic (Marlborough) $42.75 6.6% TJX (Framingham) $76.45 1.8% Oxford Immunotec (Marlborough) $13.97 -6.6% Psychemedics (Acton) $20.56 -16.7% AMSC (Devens) $3.63 -50.7% ReWalk Robotics (Marlborough) $1.10 -60.7% Publicly traded performance How Central Mass. companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq faired last year. Closing price on Dec. 29, 2017 Annual change Source: Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money S N A P S H O T ty's $5 million valuation. NHS in 2015 became the exclusive distributor of Vystar's natural rubber latex foam, Vytex, in the U.S. NHS' largest shareholders are major investors and registered insiders of Vystar, thus subjecting the transaction to insider trading restrictions. NHS's major shareholders including Steve and Greg Rotman. Yoshiharu Ikeda W

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