When President Ron Diedeman came out of retirement and returned to SUN Automation Group three years ago, he led the company on a journey that included a strong focus on a more customer-centric business model. That vision was quickly rewarded when the company experienced a tremendous uptick in orders and rapid growth in the years that followed. In late 2016, SUN Automation’s growth led to the company’s investment in a large facility in Glen Arm, Maryland.
In early April 2017, Diedeman announced he will retire in May 2018 and SUN Automation declared its Vice President, Chris Kyger, will take over as President. “I look forward to building on the tremendous legacy and success of Ron’s leadership,” said Kyger. “He will always be an integral part of the SUN family and we wish him well in his second retirement,” says Kyger.
L to R: Chris Kyger, Ron Diedeman and Paul Aliprando
Kyger joined SUN over a decade ago and has over 25 years in the corrugated industry having also worked for Langston, Staley and United Container Machinery. He has worked in the areas of sales, parts, service and rebuilds. He brings 20 years of management, customer relationship and technology experience to his new role as president.
Building on the legacy and success of Diedeman’s leadership, Kyger and team are now focused on innovation and technology to fuel the customer approach Diedeman spearheaded for the past three years. With the focus on innovation in mind, the company knew it needed a visionary to help support some of its most innovative solutions. Just as Diedeman’s retirement and Kyger’s position were announced, SUN also brought on corrugated industry veteran Paul Aliprando as Vice President of Digital Technologies.
SUN believes Aliprando’s expertise and knowledge will bring their acclaimed CorrStream Digital Printer to the next level of success. Working alongside SUN’s innovative engineers, Aliprando will utilize his experience in the industry to develop new partnerships and support the marketing and sales of the CorrStream Digital Printer technology. As a former sales and marketing Vice President for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, he led sales teams and marketing initiatives for the global company. “I am looking forward to working with the incredible talent at SUN Automation Group,” says Aliprando. “Innovation is at the forefront of the business model and the CorrStream technology is a very exciting project to lead.”
