Paul Caprio Joins LS IMM USA as President of Sales 

Duluth, GA(January 24, 2023) . . . LS Mtron Injection Molding Machines USA(LS IMM USA) has announced that industry veteran Paul Caprio has joined the company at President of Sales.  Caprio’s first day on the job is January 23rd.

Caprio is reuniting with his friend and colleague, LS IMM USA President, Peter Gardner.  Gardner and Caprio first worked together in 1989 at Machinery Systems in Chicago as a distributor of CLF IMM from Taiwan.  Together they brought on additional brands of Asian molding machines to represent including Niigata, Ube and Shinwa Seiki.

Caprio went on to KraussMaffei and worked there for 25 years and last held the position of President for North America.  He then was President at Engel from January 2020-February 2022.

Gardner went on to join Daiichi Jitsugyo America Inc.(DJA), the importer of Niigata machinery to the USA, and was the VP in charge of North America for more than 25 years.  Gardner brought the LS Mtron IMM business to North America through DJA and helped orchestrate LS Mtron’s buyout of DJA in 2021.  

LS Mtron, a division of the LS Group, a $30 billion/year Korean conglomerate with more than 25,000 employees worldwide, is the largest producer of IMMs in Korea producing up to 2,800 machines per year from 35-3600 tons.  The LS Group has nearly 4,000 employees in N. America and has manufacturing facilities throughout the US and Mexico.  LS IMM USA, LLC has two tech centers in the US, and one planned in Mexico. As one of the fastest growing injection molding machine suppliers, LS IMM USA eventually plans to assemble injection molding machines in the US.  

Gardner and Caprio have teamed up to grow the business and continue to build the customer base to justify the investment of the new IMM assembly plant.

Gardner talked Caprio out of an early retirement saying, “Paul knows the injection molding customer base in North America very well.  He is the best person to lead our company’s sales to the level we want to achieve, and as quickly as possible.”  

When asked about joining LS IMM USA, Caprio said, “The North American market is seeing a resurgence in manufacturing and the market can take advantage of having a new high end quality supplier from the technological and manufacturing savvy country of South Korea.  LS Mtron is a full line supplier building thousands of machines per year and servicing all segments of the industry.  The LS Group has almost 4,000 employees in North America with several manufacturing facilities in the US and Mexico, and the plan to build a new IMM plant in the US was a real solid reason for me to come out of retirement.”  

LS Mtron Injection Molding Machines USA recently announced it had formed a new entity, IMM USA, LLC, and named Peter Gardner President.  Gardner was formerly the company’s Business Unit Director.

This change was made due to the company’s continued growth in the USA and North America.  Until now, the company had been legally operating in the USA as a division of LS Tractor USA, LLC.  

In 2022, LS Mtron expanded its operations in North America by adding three new locations for parts and service.  The company also added several key personnel with significant industry experience.  In 2023, LS IMM USA will continue to expand its service capabilities and manpower and will adopt a Customer Experience(CX) Lifecycle model to address the needs of its customers at each stage of the molding machine’s life.