GALENA, Kan. — On July 15, TAMKO Building Products proudly celebrates the 45th anniversary of its Knoxville, Tenn. plant, along with the retirements of Steve Russell and Arnold “Scott” Newby, two TAMKO leaders who both achieved 44-year careers and were instrumental to the long-term success of the Knoxville facility.

Russell was among the first TAMKO employees who worked at the Knoxville plant, following TAMKO’s purchase in 1976. His positions at the facility included various engineering roles and then several promotions across the company before being named senior director of integrated products, a senior leadership position for multiple TAMKO manufacturing locations, including the Knoxville facility. Upon his retirement, Russell had more than 44 years of dedicated service to TAMKO.

Newby spent the majority of his time at TAMKO as the general manager of the Knoxville facility, a position he held for 33 years before being named Knoxville advisor just prior to his retirement. To recognize his leadership and career achievements, TAMKO officially named one of the Knoxville production lines “Arnold,” in honor of Newby’s more than 44 years of overall service to TAMKO.

Steve Russell

Russell began his career at TAMKO’s Knoxville facility in 1976 as a draftsman, earning several promotions including the roles of project engineer and plant engineer at the Knoxville facility, general manufacturing manager for a TAMKO facility, and mat products manager at a corporate office in Joplin, Mo. In addition to his final role as senior director of integrated products, Russell also served on TAMKO’s manufacturing leadership team comprised of key employees dedicated to bringing focus to critical areas at TAMKO.

“Steve has been instrumental in TAMKO’s success with earlier roles and more recently in the leadership of TAMKO’s glass mat, dry felt, and polyester mat operations,” said TAMKO Chairman and CEO David Humphreys. “We will miss Steve’s leadership, work ethic, and 44 years of genuine loyalty to the company and his fellow employees.”

Scott Newby

Newby joined TAMKO full time in 1977, after working as a summer engineer in 1976. Over the past 44 years, he has earned successive promotions including roles as project engineer at TAMKO’s Frederick, Maryland facility, plant engineer, plant manager and general manager at the Knoxville facility, and his most recent position as Knoxville advisor.

“In Scott’s 44 years of service to TAMKO, 41 of those years have been dedicated to the Knoxville facility,” said Humphreys. “Scott helped lay a strong foundation of Continuous Improvement at the facility and we’re proud to name a production line after him, in honor of his dedication and achievements.”

Knoxville Facility Leadership Succession

Succeeding Newby in leadership at the Knoxville facility is Matt Parrish. Parrish joined TAMKO in 2004 as a Six Sigma Black Belt at TAMKO’s Tuscaloosa, Ala. facility. Parrish was promoted to operations manager at the Joplin, Mo.-High Street facility in 2007, and assistant general manager at High Street in 2011, before being promoted to Knoxville assistant general manager in 2017 and his current role as general manager in 2020. Prior to joining TAMKO, Parrish spent seven years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Louisiana State University.

Succeeding Russell in his role at TAMKO is Tom Kendrick, director of integrated products. Kendrick joined TAMKO in 2019 as integrated products technical manager, bringing a wealth of technical expertise and operational experience. Kendrick earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Missouri State University.