Petrakis Joins Thermal Care

Steve Petrakis will become vice president of sales and marketing for Thermal Care Inc., an auxiliary equipment maker owned by IPEG Inc., which also owns Conair Group.

Petrakis, a 40-year veteran of the plastics industry, most recently spent six years as Conair’s vice president of sales for the United States and Canada.

Thermal Care announced the news Nov. 7.

Petrakis said he wants “to help Thermal Care rise to the next level of excellence and to continue to grow as a leader in the heat-transfer market.” Thermal Care, based in Niles, makes portable and central chillers, cooling towers, pump reservoirs, and temperature controllers, as well as plant-wide cooling systems.

Petrakis said the move takes him back to his roots. “When I first started in plastics, it was as a manufacturer’s representative in Chicago and I sold for Thermal Care and Conair at that time,” he said. Since then, he has worked as vice president of sales and marketing for Sterling Inc. and as president of Frigel North America from 2006 until he joined Conair in 2010. Both companies are players in the heat-transfer market.

Thermal Care President Lee Sobocinski also has a connection to Petrakis. “I am looking forward to working with Steve again, he gave me my first position in the plastics industry almost 20 years ago and together we will continue the success of Thermal Care,” he said.

Petrakis holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and an MBA from California Coast University. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., is a member of the Plastics Pioneers and serves his community with various volunteer roles.