COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA. — After 16 years of service with BPA, Mike Ganacoplos has retired as president of BPA North and South America.

“Mike was a key contributor to the growth of the organization; his leadership, knowledge and passion will be missed by his BluePrint Automation family,” said Martin Prakken, chief executive officer of BPA. “At the same time, we are happy for Mike to now enjoy a very well deserved retirement and more time with his family.”

As Mr. Ganacoplos’ retirement was long planned, it allowed BPA to conduct a thorough search for Mr. Ganacoplos’ successor. BPA announced Peter Schneider as the new president of BPA North and South America.

Mr. Schneider received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and comes with a strong background in the machinery building industry. He built a solid career in managing large projects and complex engineering disciplines, working his way up to general management with full P&L responsibility.

 “BluePrint Automation and BluePrint Robotics are an excellent combination to support our approach to deliver products and service for flexible packaging systems,” Mr. Schneider said. “Mike Ganacoplos did an excellent job in growing size and competencies of both entities for the last 16 years. I am very excited to be part of the future success story. The main focus of both organizations for the next few years will be product innovation, standardization and reduction of time to market. This will support our continuous journey to be the most recognized industry partner for flexible packaging systems.”