Richard Doornink is the managing director of Kemper System America, Inc., where he is responsible for operations in North and South America which include sales, marketing, finance, administration, production and quality control. Kemper System holds the first patents for cold fluid liquid-applied reinforced roofing, waterproofing and surfacing systems, and also produces CANTESCO chemical products for welding, and a new line HVAC CHEM for HVAC maintenance.
Before taking the reigns as a managing director, Doornink, established Cantesco Corp. in 1982 at the age of 23, manufacturing and marketing leak detection compounds and dye penetrant products for military and nuclear applications.
In the 1980s he also ambitiously started up a second company Sienna Office Products, a distributor of office products, a successful office supply that was subsequently sold off to one of the employees.
By the end of the 1980s Doornink had successfully transitioned Cantesco Corp. from a direct sale company with two products aimed at end users in manufacturing and resource industries to a full line of welding chemical products through wholesale distribution and private label channels.
In January 1991 Doornink started a third company, Cantesco Corp. USA, a N.Y. State incorporated company to expand into the U.S. After working a couple of years to understand this new market he moved ahead successfully establishing the company as a dominant player with the welding chemical products with a significant emphasis on private label. With quality at heart Doornink knew that to be an efficient manufacturer he needed to incorporate ISO 9001, a quality management system, into his manufacturing facility. The efforts put in at that time laid the ground work that was needed when working with his team in 2011 to certify Kemper System America Production plant to be ISO 9001 and 14001, in an ambitious time frame.
In 2009, he sold Cantesco Corp. USA to Kemper System GmbH, the global construction chemical company, part of the IBG Group (Cologne, Germany). Founded in 1957, Kemper System, founded by Dr. Heinz Kemper, invented the first cold liquid-applied, reinforced membrane systems and was awarded the first patents for these materials. Upon selling the company Doornink joined Kemper System. Since that time he has used his knowledge and expertise in customer service, marketing, strategic thinking and change management to build a stronger and more resilient brand in North America with a long term vision. Despite being a newcomer to the roofing and waterproofing industry his peers and partners have developed great respect and admiration for his leadership abilities and the benefits from working with him.
Besides the work Doornink accomplished in his professional career he has managed to balance it with his participation in his community. In 1986 he established the Robert F. Tawns Award in honor of his grandfather, who served in WWII. Unfortunately his grandfather was killed in action and didn't have the chance to meet Doornink's mother; unbeknownst to his grandparent that his grandmother was pregnant at the time he was shipped overseas.
The award was presented each year to a student showing the potential to achieve at a university. Unlike awards that celebrate the high achievers (students that normally receive most of the awards and bursaries), this was to celebrate (as he was) the average student, a C grade the minimum eligibility requirement.
He was proud the first year the award was presented to have his old homeroom teacher, Dan Gibson, as Doornink said "a man for whom the word patience had been invented for taking the time to put up with me in school", to present the award. This award was given annually for the next 20 years helping students with tuition and hopefully supporting them in a small way to appreciate the value of an education.
Doornink has volunteered his time to coach both baseball and hockey (having been an under aged hockey junior himself) and in 1996 he completed his National Coaching Certification, continuing to obtain the training in support of his volunteer baseball and hockey coaching.
Doornink has also been heavily involved with youth hockey, serving as coach, board of director and president of one of the largest non-profit hockey organizations in North America with an annual budget of nearly $2-million and membership of over 5,000 hockey players, coaches and referees
As the vice-president of planning, Doornink worked with other board members and volunteers to overhaul the By-Laws and Resolutions of the organization as well as restructuring the board by creating an executive committee and a board of directors that would provide accountability and transparency to the members and the community.
Doornink is based at the Kemper System America headquarters and U.S. manufacturing facilities in West Seneca, N.Y., near Buffalo.
In 1957, Kemper System developed the first cold liquid-applied, fully reinforced waterproofing membrane. Since then, their products have proven to perform at optimum performance on billions of s/f. Today, Kemper System is the worldwide leader in manufacturing the highest quality waterproofing and roofing membranes in the industry. Tags: