Berry Metal Co. announced the promotion of George J. Koenig to the position of President, effective immediately. He succeeds Theodore J. Leczo, who has elected to retire and pursue a career as a consultant.

Mr. Koenig had been serving as Berry Metal's Vice President, Director of Sales and Marketing. He joined Berry Metal four years ago, after a distinguished 25-year career at Heraeus Electro-Nite in Philadelphia.

“Mr. Koenig was brought into Berry to help us refocus our mission for the company's future and to help leverage our strength in water-cooled steelmaking hardware into new areas of advanced steelmaking technologies,” a company spokesperson said, “and this promotion is a personal measure of his success.”

Under Mr. Koenig's direction, the Berry Metal team has maintained the company's preeminence in the field of water-cooled oxygen lances, while branching out through an array of business alliances including laser and camera measurement equipment used in steelmaking; state-of-the-art water-cooled copper panel design and fabrication; and licensing agreements with companies like Praxair and HIsmelt.

"Our Lance Systems have helped steelmakers enhance their efficiency for decades. We understand the changing industry and the competitive environment, which demand even more improvements in efficiency. We intend to see that our customers have the opportunity to come to Berry Metal for a variety of advanced technologies aimed at helping them to optimize the performance of their furnaces,” Mr. Koenig said, adding, "we want to do whatever it takes to bring new technology into the steel industry."

Ted Leczo, whom Mr. Koenig succeeds, joined the company from Bethlehem Steel in 1973. "Mr. Leczo has made significant contributions to Berry Metal over a span of many years. His successes are part of the company's continuing strengths, and we wish him the best of luck in his future pursuits," the company spokesman said.