07.02.18
Rick Shook is retiring from Pilot Chemical Company after nearly 40 years, most recently serving as vice president of research and development.
Shook spent his entire career in R&D, joining Pilot’s Santa Fe Springs facility in California as a chemist in December 1978 and serving in roles over the years that included lab supervisor, lab manager, corporate technical manager and director of research. In his role as VP of R&D, Shook was responsible for technology and innovation activities, including new products and new process developments.
“When I started at Pilot, I was 25 years old with a brand new master’s degree and a pregnant wife,” Shook said. “I was thrilled just to have a research job. I never dreamed it would last me 40 years, but the job has been continuously challenging and renewing, with something new always coming down the pike.”
Early in his career, Shook helped develop Pilot’s Aristonate products, oil-soluble sulfonates used in the manufacture of metalworking fluids. He also played a key role in Pilot’s Calfax line of disulfonate products, which are used extensively in the manufacture of latex for paint, pressure-sensitive adhesives and more.
Shook holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pepperdine University and a master’s degree in chemistry from the UCLA.
Shook will stay involved with Pilot as a consultant.
Shook spent his entire career in R&D, joining Pilot’s Santa Fe Springs facility in California as a chemist in December 1978 and serving in roles over the years that included lab supervisor, lab manager, corporate technical manager and director of research. In his role as VP of R&D, Shook was responsible for technology and innovation activities, including new products and new process developments.
“When I started at Pilot, I was 25 years old with a brand new master’s degree and a pregnant wife,” Shook said. “I was thrilled just to have a research job. I never dreamed it would last me 40 years, but the job has been continuously challenging and renewing, with something new always coming down the pike.”
Early in his career, Shook helped develop Pilot’s Aristonate products, oil-soluble sulfonates used in the manufacture of metalworking fluids. He also played a key role in Pilot’s Calfax line of disulfonate products, which are used extensively in the manufacture of latex for paint, pressure-sensitive adhesives and more.
Shook holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pepperdine University and a master’s degree in chemistry from the UCLA.
Shook will stay involved with Pilot as a consultant.
