Hudson Technologies marks passing of Kevin J Zugibe
27th June 2020
USA: Leading refrigerant supplier and reclaimer Hudson Technologies will close on Monday as a mark of respect for its founder, chairman and CEO Kevin J Zugibe, who died this week.
A pioneer and driving force in the refrigerants business in the USA, Zugibe passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday (June 23) He was just 56.
A statement from Hudson Technologies, the company he co-founded in Pearl River, NY, in 1991, read: “As a small gesture in Kevin’s memory, and a mark of our respect, we will close our company’s facilities this Monday, June 29, 2020, as Kevin is laid to rest.” It will reopen for business as normal on Tuesday June 30.
Describing his passing as “a major loss”, Vincent Abbatecola, chairman of Hudson’s audit committee, announced that Brian Coleman, president and COO, will take over the duties of CEO.
First involved with the environmental concerns surrounding CFC refrigerants in the late 1980s, Zugibe led the growth of Hudson Technologies from its beginnings in a garage to become the USA’s largest refrigerant reclamation company, employing close to 300 people and with a turnover of over $40m.
Describing himself as an entrepreneur-engineer, he was the holder of many patents. Chief among these was the inline refrigerant reclamation unit, nicknamed the Zugibeast, one of the first reclamation units developed in the 1990s.
