Management Team

Tom edwards crop

Tom Edwards

Chairman of the Board
Tom edwards crop

Tom Edwards

Chairman of the Board

Chairman of the Board - Tom Edwards is currently CEO/President of TRE Consulting LLC. Tom’s 30 years of manufacturing and distribution leadership includes executive management experience with Johnson Controls, Trane and Ruskin Co. As President of Ruskin, Tom guided them through quadruple growth via a mix of organic and logical add-on acquisitions.

Tom’s industry experience includes extensive JIT/lean utilization, establishing domestic and overseas manufacturing, acquisitional analysis and synergy execution, distribution expansion, customer-focused information technology tools, supplier development, building code and standards initiatives, and optimized overall operational restructuring for maximizing returns. Extensive experience in CEO, COO and Board of Director roles – including Past-President and Chairman of the Air Movement and Control Association. A U.S. patent holder, a frequent guest speaker, and an author of many trade journal articles.

With experience in publicly traded companies, privately-held and private equity ownership, and board of director roles, Tom has achieved excellent results by using a combination of fundamental product market/segment driver analysis, motivational methods, financial discipline, operational acumen, and perceptive reasoning skills.

Tom earned his MBA degree from Penn State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in both Materials and Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Ken Trent crop

Ken Trent

Member, Board of Directors
Ken Trent crop

Ken Trent

Member, Board of Directors

President - Ken Trent has served as Executive Chairman of United Enertech since DalFort’s investment in December 2016. Mr. Trent was formerly an owner and executive at Professional Power Products, Inc. (PPPi), a vertically-integrated manufacturer of enclosed gas and diesel power generation systems. At PPPi, Mr. Trent directed sales, engineering and manufacturing activities. He joined PPPi in 2001 and played an integral role in increasing revenue from $3 million to approximately $40 million at the time of the company’s sale to Power Solutions International (Nasdaq: PSIX) in 2014.

Prior to joining PPPi, Mr. Trent held M&A, corporate finance and corporate development positions with Lehman Brothers in New York, NY and Overture (Yahoo) in Pasadena, CA.

Mr. Trent earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Darby Benroth United Enertech Holdings

Darby Benroth

President and CEO
Darby Benroth United Enertech Holdings

Darby Benroth

President and CEO

President – Darby Benroth joined United Enertech Holdings from American Warming and Ventilating, a subsidiary of Mestek, where he served in various leadership positions for the past 11 years, and as President since 2014. In addition to his prior leadership experience, Benroth brings engineering and sales expertise, having served as National Sales Manager for Mestek for six years, and as an Application Engineer for five years.

Darby earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Toledo, and a Master of Business Administration from Bluffton University.

Carol Black headshot UE site

Carol Black

CFO
Carol Black headshot UE site

Carol Black

CFO

CFO – Carol Black joined United Enertech Holdings in 2021 with extensive executive experience including chief financial officer of Atlanta based Victory Packaging, chief financial officer of Schletter NA, Inc., chief financial officer of Ambient Air Corporation, and division president of JR Hobbs.

In addition to her strong financial experience and successful track record, Black’s operations background as senior vice president of finance and operations for PlayCore, brings a unique cross discipline expertise that helps companies grow and take market share.

Black earned a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Bristol University.

Ross crop v2

Ross Strickland

General Manager, Air Performance
Ross crop v2

Ross Strickland

General Manager, Air Performance

General Manager, Air Performance - Ross Strickland is one of the original founders of Air Performance, Inc. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the louver industry working in all aspects of production and engineering. Prior to Air Performance, he worked for Ruskin / Reliable Louvers based in Geneva, AL. Ross manages plant personnel, product design and fabrication, as well as Air Performance’s complete operations .

Adam Mc Dowell headshot

Adam McDowell

General Manager, United Enertech
Adam Mc Dowell headshot

Adam McDowell

General Manager, United Enertech

General Manager, United Enertech - Adam McDowell joined United Enertech in 2018 as the plant manager. Prior to joining the UE team, Adam was the operations manager for Ruskin (a division of Johnson Controls Inc.) in Mira Loma, California.

Adam has spent over 10 years in the manufacturing industry holding positions including operations manager, manufacturing engineer, and lean coordinator.

Throughout his time in the industry, Adam has led multiple improvement events driving efficiency and improved manufacturing performance. He remains committed to continued improvement for our UE employees and customers, bringing focus to on-time delivery and quality.

Adam earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State where he was a scholar athlete.

Chris Williams website v1

Chris Williams

General Manager, Metal Form Manufacturing
Chris Williams website v1

Chris Williams

General Manager, Metal Form Manufacturing

General Manager, Metal Form Mfg/Commercial Acoustics/Dynasonics/Energy Saver – Chris Williams has over 15 years of experience in sales and engineering and was most recently with Kinetics Noise Control. He has an impressive track record of success and is dedicated to upholding the high standards of service and quality that Metal Form and its brands are known for.

Chris Mebus crop v2

Christopher Mebus

General Manager, Air Conditioning Products Company
Chris Mebus crop v2

Christopher Mebus

General Manager, Air Conditioning Products Company

General Manager, Air Conditioning Products Company – Christopher Mebus served as President of Air Conditioning Products Company until joining United Enertech Holding’s family of businesses in 2021. Chis has expert knowledge of the building materials industry with extensive experience in plant operations, manufacturing, and management.