ELYRIA, Ohio — Ridgid announced the addition of Mitch Barton to the Ridgid Global Press Connection team, where he will serve as marketing director. In this new position, Barton will manage product development, partner relations, and new business opportunities for the growing line of Ridgid press tools.

Barton brings several decades of marketing and product development experience to his new role. Previously, he served as director, Global Project Management, for Performance Health in Akron. In this role, he transformed the product management group from a support organization to a team that led projects and decision making across the organization. At Ridgid, he brings this outlook to the Global Press Connection team, helping them strengthen their focus, responsiveness, and global connectivity solutions in the pressing category.

“Looking at the needs of our end-user – the professional tradesperson – is critical to our overall product development strategy,” said John Ruese, vice president and general manager of Global Press Connection at Ridgid. “Mitch understands this ‘consumer-first’ mindset and will help us continue to take a more holistic view towards new tool technologies.”

In addition to more than 30 years of marketing experience across a variety of industries, Barton also holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degree from Bowling Green State University.

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