Josh Guilliams, Vice President of Consultancy, leads Smithers’ technical consulting team based in Akron, Ohio. Josh manages client relationships and works with other Smithers experts on complex projects. He also conducts in-depth investigations of a wide variety of rubber materials and final products on behalf of clients.
Before joining the team at Smithers, Guilliams spent several years in leadership at Polymer Valley Chemicals, Inc., as Technical Director and Vice President of Technical Operations. Prior to his time at Polymer Valley Chemicals, he held technical and commercial roles at Hankook Tire, EASTMAN Chemical Corporation, LANXESS Corporation, and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.
Paul Ita runs Notch Consulting, a Massachusetts-based research company dedicated to the market research needs of the global specialty chemicals industry. Mr. Ita focuses on raw materials for the global tire and rubber industries, with a particular focus on carbon black, silica, and rubber chemicals. Through Notch, he publishes the Carbon Black World Data Book and the Carbon Black Quarterly Newsletter.
Member of the Party Committee, Deputy General Manager, and Dean of the Research Institute, at Black Cat Shares
Since joining the company, he has successively undertaken bidding planning, discipline inspection, and new energy material development at Jiangxi Black Cat. In technical research and development, he specializes in optimizing carbon black production processes, developing new materials, and advancing green low-carbon technologies. He oversees strategic planning and technological innovation to upgrade the carbon black industry chain.
Key Projects and Achievements in Technological Innovation, Green Low-Carbon Development, and Industry-Academia Collaboration:
Led the application of new petrochemical products and refinery technologies in carbon black production, introducing novel processes and equipment.Directed the comprehensive utilization of tail gas and dehydration projects at Black Cat.
Spearheaded the carbon black tail gas waste heat power generation project, optimizing a five-stage reactor process with an 85% waste heat recovery rate, reducing annual CO₂emissions by over 20,000 tons. This technology was recognized as a Green Benchmark Case by Black Cat Group.
Expanded applications for insulating carbon black, completing pilot-scale production and validating its performance in colored insulation materials, filling a domestic gap in specialty carbon blacks.
Jian Feng is the global marketing manager for sustainable solutions of
Reinforcement Materials business segment at Cabot Corporation. He has over 18 years of experience in the rubber and carbon black industry. He joined Cabot in 2012 and started his marketing role in 2015 after 3 years role in technical service manager, where he has held different marketing role in the business, including regional marketing manager, global marketing manager for industrial rubber products, and most recently was appointed as global marketing manager for sustainable solution. In this new role, he leads the strategy development for Cabot Sustainable solutions and leads various sustainability projects and commercialize Cabot EVOLVE sustainable solutions
Mr. Tim Bart is principal of Carbon Management International, a consulting firm established in 1999. Mr. Bart co-publishes the monthly CBO Monitor with Mr. Vince Guercio reporting on carbon black feedstock and the carbon black industry. Prior to 2017, Carbon Management was involved in global coal tar and coal tar distillation, consulting and sourcing distillation products for related downstream industries. Mr. Bart serves as president of the International Tar Association, an industry association comprised of coal tar distillation and related companies. Mr. Bart received degrees in Environmental Science, Masters of Business Administration, Masters of Communications and Masters of International Relations from Rutgers University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Seton Hall University.
Martin von Wolfersdorff, trading as "Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin”, is an expert advisor and business partner of Smithers specialising in sustainable carbon blacks. Martin works with Smithers on carbon black consulting projects, writes Smithers reports and is the founder and business partner of the recovered Carbon Black Conference. Martin's corporate assignments were in carbon black, plastic packaging, plastic masterbatch and titanium dioxide. Martin has a Dipl. Ing. (Univ.) degree in chemical engineering from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.
Joined Continental in 2012 with a focus on supplier development, specializing in rubber raw material production processes, applications, and market intelligence. Possess over 10 years of in-depth experience, particularly in the fillers segment.
From 2021 to 2022, served as Global Manager – Supply Chain Due Diligence at Continental’s headquarters in Hannover, Germany, where I led initiatives in sustainability risk assessment and mitigation across the global supply chain.Well-versed in regulatory compliance, including the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Rob Dennis-Pelcher is a Principal Scientist in Goodyear's Global Material Science - Sustainability team, specializing in reinforcing filler development like carbon black, silica, recovered carbon from end-of-life tires, and nanomaterials. Additionally, Rob leads Goodyear’s Global Filler Technology Council to define and drive a reinforcing filler strategy for the company. With a PhD in chemistry from the University at Buffalo and over nine years' experience, Rob has advanced supplier capabilities and new material applications for Goodyear. His current focus is on sustainable filler materials and advanced filler performance, with recent successes earning him a spot in C&EN’s Talented 12 in 2024. Rob joined Goodyear in 2016, progressing from Staff Scientist to Principal Scientist. Prior to joining Goodyear, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Texas A&M University. Rob’s PhD and postdoctoral work focused on the synthesis, characterization, and application of carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other nanostructured materials.
Advanced laboratory skills and 14 years’ hands-on experience in organic, inorganic, and polymer synthesis and processing, formulation, structure and property characterization, and laboratory safety management. Deep knowledge of US, PCT, and Chinese patent law systems with the proof of a passing grade on the examination for registration to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (potential to be an in-house patent agent).
