Who We Are
Behind every great company is a story. Ours begins in 1931, during the turbulence of the Great Depression, when George O’Connor took a chance and bought a bankrupt paper mill in Upstate New York. Convinced that the mill and the craftspeople who worked there were worth saving, he strove to make paper that was as enduring and unique as it was well-crafted and beautiful.
Today, we are building on that legacy as we serve the creative needs of designers, brand-owners and printers in more than 60 countries with carefully crafted papers designed to make print more beautiful, effective, and memorable in a digital-first world. As a family-owned business, we try to treat everyone like family; from our 500 Mohawk employees to our customers and partners. That’s because our business is built on relationships, handshake-level trust, communication, and honesty toward everyone we work with. The fact that Mohawk has endured for four generations means we make decisions and innovate new products for the long term, not just the next quarter. And because we care about our environment, we do all this with future generations in mind, by sourcing pulps responsibly, conserving the water our craft relies on, and harnessing wind power for our mills.
At our core, we are a company of makers. We make real things that make a real impact. We make connections between people and ideas. What we make helps print go from simply good to truly great.
What will you make today?
Mohawk Heritage
Mohawk was founded in 1931 in upstate New York, where the Hudson and Mohawk rivers converge. In this location, generations of fine papermakers have honed their craft while helping define the contours of an industry. From its modest origins during the Depression, Mohawk has grown through careful management and wise investment. Today, Mohawk is a thriving business with a global presence, a reputation for thought leadership and a commitment to core values that celebrate heritage and innovation in equal measure.
Our Family
Management Team
Melissa Stevens
Melissa Stevens
Ms. Stevens began her career at Mohawk in 2004 as Specification Sales Representative in the Boston, Massachusetts region, and has progressed through a number of roles, each with greater responsibility within the functions of sales and marketing. In 2012, Melissa was promoted to Director, Strategic Accounts & Sales Process Improvement to lead the development of the Mohawk sales team’s transformation and CRM implementation. In 2013, Melissa became Vice President, Sales, overseeing both inside and outside sales teams. In 2016, Melissa was promoted to Senior Vice President Sales for Premium Papers, leveraging her expertise in sales process management to drive sales and business development efforts for Mohawk’s core premium paper business. In 2017, Melissa was promoted to Chief Revenue Officer for Mohawk. The sources for revenue also continue to change and it is more than just about selling transactional paper. Melissa will be responsible for helping Mohawk reach our topline goals and objectives by leading our sales, marketing, and product teams and working in close alignment with operations and finance.
Prior to joining Mohawk, Melissa spent 10 years in the publishing and paper distribution industries developing sales channels and market strategies. Melissa holds a BS in Business & Marketing from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is currently pursuing her MBA.
Eric Ouderkirk
Eric Ouderkirk
Eric Ouderkirk comes to Mohawk from Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, where he led a variety of sales, marketing and business development teams during his 26-year tenure with the company. He is well-known to the Mohawk team, having been our Nalco account manager for a number of years and collaborating with us to launch Mohawk i-Tone during that time. Joining the Mohawk leadership team is a return to Eric’s roots as he worked in variety of engineering and operations roles for 10 years prior to joining Nalco. He has worked for Boise Cascade, Union Camp, and Lincoln Pulp & Paper.
Ouderkirk is a principled leader who brings diverse business experience to Mohawk. He has worked in almost every functional area during his career – engineering, operations, supply chain, sales, marketing, business development, and M&A. He can drive collaboration and progress, doing it with clear communications and a data-driven approach.
Ouderkirk earned both his BS Engineering and his MBA from the State University of New York. He is a licensed Professional Engineer.
Dolph Beyer
Dolph Beyer
Mr. Beyer joined Mohawk in 1996 as a Process Engineer and received several promotions within operations including Waterford Mill Manager and Director, Envelope Operations. He was promoted in 2014 to Vice President, New York Operations with responsibility for the New York manufacturing and finishing operations including the Cohoes and Waterford Mills and the Specialty Converting Center.
Dolph has a Bachelor of Science in Paper Science and Engineering from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from LeMoyne College, both in Syracuse, New York.
Michael J. Madura, Jr.
Michael J. Madura, Jr.
Mr. Madura joined the company in 2011 as Vice President, Digital. He is responsible for Mohawk’s digital portfolio of paper and specialty substrates and for Mohawk MakeReady. In 2017, he became Vice President, Product Development and Management where he will be driving product development efforts in bringing new products to market and directing product management efforts for existing products across our Fine Papers, Digital Papers, Specialty Substrates and Wide Format product lines. Prior to joining Mohawk, Mike was employed for 14 years with Xerox Corporation most recently as Manager, Production Marketing Communications. Prior to Xerox he served with the US Navy.
Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a Master’s in International Business from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Michelle A. Carpenter
Michelle A. Carpenter
Ms. Carpenter began her career at Mohawk in 1991 as an Environmental Project Coordinator and has progressed through a number of roles, each with greater responsibility within the area of Environmental Affairs. In 2012, Michelle was promoted to Director, Corporate Environmental and Energy Stewardship in recognition for additional responsibilities assumed for specific aspects of Mohawk’s energy management program. In 2013, Michelle became Vice President, Environmental and Energy Stewardship.
Michelle holds a BS in Accounting and a BA in Biology – Environmental Science. She has also earned a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Urban Policy and Environmental Planning from the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Harold G. Cropsey
Harold G. Cropsey
Harold joined Mohawk in September, 2012 after spending 17 years with Vertis, Inc. where he held the positions of Division and Regional Controller and, Vice President of Operational Finance. In 2017, Harold was promoted to VP, Corporate Controller. Harold will continue to lead this team and position Mohawk to be financially prepared to take advantage of new business opportunities.
Harold is a New York State Certified Public Accountant. He has an accounting degree from the State University of New York.
Gavin L. Gaynor
Gavin L. Gaynor
Mr. Gaynor joined the company in 2000 as Manager of Research and Development. In 2002 he was promoted to Director of that department and in 2008, he became Vice President of R & D. Prior to Mohawk, Gavin was senior project engineer for Westvaco Corporation serving as inkjet development team leader in the Luke Mill.
Gavin has Bachelors and Doctorate degrees in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Ed Knott
Ed Knott
Mr. Knott joined Mohawk in March of 1997. Ed assumed responsibility for Purchasing in 2006 and became Director of Purchasing in 2009. Promoted to Vice President Procurement in 2018, Ed is responsible for directing the procurement operation and coordinating the purchase of raw materials company-wide. A recipient of his "Certified Purchasing Manager" (CPM) accreditation, Ed has been invaluable to Mohawk in his pursuit of favorable pulp contracts, the company's single largest input cost from outside vendors.
Benjamin Whitaker
Benjamin Whitaker
Ben Whitaker has been with Mohawk since 1999. He has been central to managing business process improvement, enterprise systems implementation and support, and continuous improvement efforts through periods of dynamic change. In 2017, he was promoted to VP of Business Process Management and IT, where he is bringing focus to continuous process improvement along with access to data, information, and analysis throughout the supply chain.
Prior to coming to Mohawk, Ben worked at General Electric and served in the United States Air Force. He holds a BA from Princeton University in Mathematics and a MS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado. He is certified as both a Six Sigma Black Belt and a Process Master in business process re-engineering.
Press
Mohawk and Fedrigoni are pleased to share the next step in the evolution of their partnership. Mohawk will be the North American distribution partner for Fedrigoni Specialty Papers, effective July 2023.
Making an informed paper selection is key to making print that stands out and creates impact. That is why Mohawk has refined and reorganized its paper portfolio into 5 distinct Collections that help make choosing paper by its properties and attributes easier. All the legendary grades that Mohawk produces still exist, but the new Mohawk Collections eliminate the guesswork behind paper specification giving you a simpler, more straightforward way to think about paper.
Corporate Citizenship
At Mohawk, being a good corporate citizen means being responsible to the people and planet that support our business. Our commitments to environment, safety, and governance are at the core of our values. We are continuously improving every aspect of our business — with an emphasis on our sustainable and social impacts.
As we continue our journey, we remain committed to our established manufacturing best practices to minimize our environmental footprint. We've also taken an honest look at the advancements we've made and realize that we can challenge ourselves to do more. This entails establishing new goals and charting the path forward to achieve them.
Mohawk is committed to a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
To find out more about our fiber, water, and energy stories, visit our sustainability page here.
Work With Us
Contact Us
(800) 843-6455
Monday - Friday
8a - 6:30pm EST
465 Saratoga Street
Cohoes, NY 12047
Fax 1-518-237-7394