Graverson to Step Down as Sellars’ COO

MILWAUKEE -- Julie Graverson, who has more than 40 years of experience in the paper industry, will retire as chief operations officer of Sellars Absorbent Materials to be replaced by Wade Kemnitz.

“Julie has been an amazing leader whose work ethic, character and abilities are exemplary,” said Tom Sellars, CEO of Sellars. “She truly cares about our people and the business. She will be deeply missed.”
She joined Sellars in 2016 as vice president of supply chain, later becoming vice president of operations and then COO.

Graverson has a great breadth of knowledge of almost every operational aspect of the “away from home” towel and tissue market. She gained this invaluable knowledge from having performed a wide variety of roles, including working in paper mills, quality, training and purchasing and furthered her career as part of the senior management and ownership team of National Tissue, which grew significantly and was successfully sold prior to her joining Sellars.

In early October, Sellars announced that Wade Kemnitz had joined the company as president and COO. Kemnitz’s new role at Sellars was part of a planned succession, due to Graverson’s retirement.

Kemnitz has extensive paper manufacturing management experience. Most recently, he was president and CEO of BiOrigin Specialty Products, a leading manufacturer of high-performance paper and tissue products, and a supplier to Sellars.

Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sellars is a leading manufacturer of ToolBox shop towels and absorbents.

Learn more about Sellars’ 40-plus years of innovation by visiting sellars.com.