Fred Aker to Join PaneraTech SmartMelter® as Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Effective July 1st, Fred will join PaneraTech after thirty-four years of services at SORG, one of the most reputable vendors in the Glass Industry.

Fred has progressed in his three decade career at SORG from his original  IT role to his current position as Sales Director most recently. During his latest role at SORG, Fred was responsible for one of two sales teams which, through a combination of key accounts and different regions, spanned the globe. This included Russia, the Middle East, North and South America as well numerous key accounts. Here he was at home working together with tightly held companies such as Gallo Glass and FEVISA, through global players such as ABInBev and O-I.

In his first encounter with SmartMelter® team, Fred was very impressed with what SmartMelter® could deliver to his customers. “I was very impressed with what a young, passionate and overachieving team of engineers have accomplished by solving one of the most challenging problems the industry has faced for many decades. What truly amazed me was how quickly they transformed this technology into a global operations where within two and a half years of its release, they have serviced customers in over forty countries.“

Fred continued, “What truly excites me is SmartMelter®’s vision to offer full furnace health management solution that takes away the worry of maintaining and managing the risk of furnaces from glass customers, and let them enjoy longer and, lower cost and safer operation of their furnaces.”

Fred’s excitement was joined by PaneraTech’s CEO, Dr. Yakup Bayram. Dr. Bayram said, “Among many wonderful people I have met in the glass industry, Fred stood out as one of the finest people with deep knowledge of furnaces, and the industry. As we are transitioning from technology provider to a full service furnace health management organization with offices globally, I am very confident that Fred will not only leave his mark in our organization, but also within the glass industry in many years to come. “

Fred has many hobbies, including travel, reading and almost daily walks with wife Annette. Fred is also a technology (gadgets) fan, a connection to his IT days, and more excited to be among high-tech team at SmartMelter® to build and shape the future.