Russell W. Kirchner Jr. is an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

, and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He founded High Performance Alloys and served as its

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 1984 to 2009.

Career

Kirchner began his career as a

and worked with the Union Carbide/Cabot Stellite Division, now known as

Haynes International Haynes International, Inc., a subsidiary of Acerinox headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana, is one of the largest producers of corrosion-resistant and high-temperature alloys. In addition to Kokomo, Haynes has manufacturing facilities in Arcadia, Lo ...

, for 18 years. During this time, he obtained several patents and played an instrumental role in the development of Hastelloy C-276. In 1984, Kirchner founded High Performance Alloys. The company was established during an economic downturn and initially focused on distributing sawed bars and plate capabilities. However, by the late 1980s, it had transitioned to manufacturing plates, sheets, bars, and forgings. After 25 years as president of High Performance Alloys, Kirchner retired in 2009.

Personal life

Kirchner married Cella on May 27, 1966. After the birth of their first son, they moved to

Greentown, Indiana Greentown is a town in Liberty Township, Howard County, Indiana, United States. Located approximately 9 miles east of Kokomo on State Road 22 / US 35; it is home to the Howard County Fair Grounds. The town was platted in 1848, and incorporated ...

, where they raised their three sons. However, from 1974 to 1977, the family lived in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

before returning to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

References

Living people Businesspeople from Indiana American company founders {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchner, Russ Year of birth missing (living people) American metallurgists People from Greentown, Indiana 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople