Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions (IBS), Southbridge, Mass., USA, a manufacturer of industrial knives and blades for a spectrum of industries including paper and board, this week announced that Richard "Rick" Howard has been hired in a newly created position of controller. In this position, Howard will oversee Hyde’s finance department.

Howard brings more than 30 years of accounting experience in manufacturing environments. At Hyde IBS and for the Hyde Group of Companies, he will be responsible for financial statement reporting, cost accounting, inventory management, budgeting and overhead analysis, and manufacturing order monitoring.

Prior to joining Hyde Group, Howard was with Simonds International in Fitchburg, Mass., where he had been the plant controller for three of their manufacturing facilities. In this position, he was heavily involved in all aspects of financial statement reporting and analysis.

Howard holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton (Ohio), majoring in accounting. He also attended The School of Computer Technology in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions recently celebrated its 140th year in business. More information about the company is available online.