MILTON, N.Y. — January 2, 2024 — Sono-Tek Corp., developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems, today announced that it has completed the senior management transition that was previously announced at the company’s most recent annual meeting on August 24, 2023.
Effective as of December 31, 2023, Dr. Christopher L. Coccio transitioned from his position as CEO of Sono-Tek Corp. to the company’s executive chairman. He will also continue to serve as chairman of the company’s board of directors. As executive chairman, Dr. Coccio will continue to play a senior leadership role in the company’s management. Effective upon Dr. Coccio’s transition, the board formalized the appointment of R. Stephen Harshbarger as the company’s CEO. He will also remain president, a position he has held since 2012.
Dr. Coccio stated: “It has been my pleasure to serve as the CEO of Sono-Tek since 2001. For many of those years, I have worked together in partnership at the highest levels with Steve Harshbarger and together, we completed the turnaround of Sono-Tek and the strategic repositioning to focus on larger, more complex systems for production applications that has created the momentum we’ve been building. I have every confidence in his abilities to lead Sono-Tek forward, and he has all of my support as we continue working together to achieve the Company’s goals.”
Harshbarger added: “I’m excited to keep advancing the vision for Sono-Tek that I share with Dr. Coccio and am honored to have been mentored by him, and to now transition to the role of chief executive officer. The shift in focus to developing multiple high technology applications for Sono-Tek’s proprietary ultrasonic coating technology has begun to pay off, and we believe that supported by our solid operational and financial foundation, Sono-Tek has a strong outlook for future growth.”
Harshbarger has more than 30 years of experience in ultrasonic coating equipment for the electronics, medical device and advanced energy industries. He joined Sono-Tek in 1993 and was appointed president of the company in 2012, elected a director in 2013, and in August 2020, he assumed the COO position as well. As president, he directed the company’s sales, marketing, engineering, service, and manufacturing operations. Prior to becoming president, Harshbarger served as sales engineer, worldwide sales and marketing manager, vice president & director of Electronics and Advanced Energy (E&AE) and executive vice president. In his years managing the sales organization, Harshbarger established a worldwide distribution and representative network in more than 40 countries consisting of more than 300 people, and contributing to revenue growth of greater than 400 percent.
Prior to joining the company, Harshbarger was the sales and marketing manager for Plasmaco Inc., a developer of flat panel displays. In that position, he established that company’s distribution network, participated in venture capital funding, and introduced the first flat panel technology to Wall Street trading floors. Harshbarger is a graduate of Bentley University with a major in Finance and a minor in Marketing.
Posted: January 2, 2024
Source: Sono-Tek Corp.
