Springfield manufacturer promotes COO to president

Springfield-based manufacturer Allen Filters Inc. promoted a less than two-year employee to president.

Hired as chief operating officer of the company in early 2012, Jerome Nichols has been named president, according to an Aug. 14 news release. Nichols succeeds John Howland, who resigned in May, said Allen Filters spokeswoman Claire Faucett, who noted she was unaware of why he left the job.

“Jerome’s manufacturing expertise, depth of international and global experience, along with his exceptional corporate vision, are proving to be invaluable assets to Allen Filters," company owner and CEO Katherine Allen said in the release.

Prior to joining Allen Filters, Nichols worked nine years as president of Springfield-based KO Manufacturing Inc., a cleaning chemical manufacturer.

Allen Filters, a custom manufacturer of fluid filtration and purification equipment for power grids and the oil and gas industries, does more than half of its business overseas, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.