WESTPORT, CT — Specialty chemicals distributor Azelis Americas announced that it has hired Eduardo Salinas as Managing Director Latin America (LATAM).

Salinas will lead the expansion of Azelis Americas in Latin America. He will report to the CEO of Americas, Frank Bergonzi.

With the acquisition of Megafarma, in January 2020, Azelis Americas gained a strong position in the pharmaceutical and food segments in Mexico. Azelis Americas has subsequently, grown into other market segments, such as plastics, CASE, personal care, and household and industrial cleaning. Under Salinas’ leadership, Azelis Americas is now poised for further geographic expansion in LATAM, as the company continues to implement its M&A strategy.

Frank Bergonzi, CEO and President, Azelis Americas, said, “Latin America is a critically important region in our expansion plans. We continue to be committed to increasing our presence in the region both, organically and via acquisition and require additional resources to execute our plan. Eduardo has the unique experience, qualifications and knowledge of the region to fulfill these goals. We will continue to leverage our existing assets and our strong relationships with key principals in the U.S. and Canada.

“Martin Hernandez, General Director at Megafarma, will continue to lead our efforts in Mexico, and will report to Eduardo Salinas. Martin has done an excellent job of integrating Megafarma into the Azelis family. In Mexico, we have successfully expanded our infrastructure and platform for entry into new market segments. In addition, we are building a new application lab in Mexico City and have recently hired a Lab Director.”

Salinas, commented, “It is an honor to join a globally renowned, world-class specialty chemical distributor in Azelis. I know what a great organization Azelis is. I look forward to working with Martin and the rest of his team at Megafarma to continue to grow the business in Mexico and to working with Frank in implementing Azelis’ M&A strategy in expanding our footprint into other Latin America countries.”

Prior to joining Azelis, Salinas was a co-founder of High Chem Specialties Mexico, a specialty chemical distributor in Mexico. His career started at Eastman Chemicals as Sales Manager than moved to Air Products as Business Manager for Latin America before running High Chem Specialties in Mexico City.