Zochem’s Vice President, Ed Smith announces retirement

Dickson, TN – When you enjoy what you are doing, as much as Ed Smith has, it’s tough to make a last curtain call. After a long illustrious career, Ed has decided to enter his next phase of life by announcing that he will retire as Zochem vice president, effective December 31, 2022.

Ed has worked for over three decades in the zinc oxide industry, putting the customer’s requirements and expectations at the forefront of his and the company’s priorities. More than this, Ed has been a considerate leader and advocate of the team’s successes. He is both an internal and external booster of the Zochem brand, and the benefits to our world of zinc oxide itself. Among Ed’s accomplishments has been the creation of a strong national distribution network, a world-class sales team, a strong international and domestic customer base, and a responsive customer service team.

In 2013, Ed was a partner of the start-up zinc oxide company, “Zinc Oxide LLC,” which built the newest state-of-the-art zinc oxide production facility in Dickson, TN. As a consummate leader, his role did not stop at customer orders and approvals. Wearing many hats, including supporting freight, website direction, advertising manager, packaging drawings, and sourcing. Ed’s drive was an integral part of the team’s success which ultimately amalgamated with the Zochem merger in 2017 to become what is today’s “Dream Team.”

Always a planner and interested in the path ahead, Ed supported the succession plan to ensure leadership and continued support the Zochem customer base was intact. Throughout the last 18 months, Ed has worked closely with his successor, regional manager, Seth Johnson to ensure a seamless transition. The tools, methodology, and insights developed by Ed were shared to build a continuum of knowledge and education to keep the sales and marketing team on track. On a friendly note, Seth stated “Ed played a vital role in where Zochem is today, and his drive and loyalty to this company have always been apparent. He’s been a mentor and provided continued support over these past 6+ years, for which I’ll always be grateful. Ed, we enjoyed the ride and wish you a happy, healthy, and much-deserved retirement. Barb, he is all yours!”

Ed is a strong believer in continual improvement. He directed that customers be surveyed on an ongoing basis, and used the knowledge to provide a greater customer experience. No detail was too small to be ignored.

President and C.E.O. Mohit Sharma added “win or lose, you always want to know you have the support of your teammate, no matter what the challenge ahead. Ed has been both supportive and educational in the strategies that we have put together to bring Zochem to the next level. Whether it be a quantitative fact or a brainstorming session, it has been a joy learning from Ed’s experience while always knowing he had the best interest of Zochem in mind. I thank him for his dependability, reliability, camaraderie, and friendship.”

Ed will be enjoying Florida sunshine, a little golf, and well-earned time with family and friends. He plans to stay in touch with the Zochem team and be available if his input is needed.

Zochem would like to say THANK YOU to Ed Smith, for his dedication, hard work, and commitment to the company. We’ll miss him! We wish him an amazing journey ahead.

Should you wish to reach out to Ed directly, he can be reached at esmith@zochem.com