It is with sadness that Batteries International reports Roger Winslow, one of the giants of the US lead battery scene since the 1960s, passed away last week.

Roger joined Voltmaster, a US battery manufacturer, in 1957 and bought the business in the early 1970s. The company thrived under his management and in November 2006 he sold the firm to East Penn. After Voltmaster he bought Richardson Moulding which he later sold to Stryten.

Roger was the president of the Independent Battery Manufacturers from 1973-1975 and the leading figure into its absorption by BCI. Roger was president of BCI from 1986-1988, and served on the BCI board for roughly three decades until 2006, and as a board member Emeritus until 2012.

Chris Pruitt, CEO of East Penn, said: “We were saddened to hear of Roger’s recent passing. He had been a dear friend to East Penn for many years, even well before we acquired Voltmaster in 2006 of which he was the president. His care and compassion for the employees of his company was clearly evident and deeply admired.”

Jimmy Stewart, VP for sales at MAC Engineering said: “I have known Roger for forty plus years. He was a humble man who was open to showing his accomplishments at Voltmaster to me even though I was working at his competitor, Exide, at the time. He shared with me his dreams of the plant. I admired how much he did within the plant with so little capital spending.”
Roger was honoured by Battery Council International last year for his exceptional contribution to the lead battery industry.

“Roger was a driving force behind the evolution of BCI as the worldwide trade association moved more aggressively into public policy, standard-setting and other pressing issues,” says Roger Miksad, BCI’s president. “In the mid-1960s, Roger led the formation of the modern BCI Group Size system, and was instrumental in the formation of a very active BCI Data Book Committee.

“BCI’s success depends on leaders who are willing to look beyond their individual businesses to the needs of the industry as a whole. Roger’s many years of dedicated service stands as an example to us all. He has helped shape the path that we are on today.”

Roger was never stuck in the past. Speaking to Batteries International at the time of the BCI award he said the progress the lead battery industry had made over his lifetime has been enormous. “Quite simply our batteries are better than ever,” he said. “We’re using half the lead and doubling the power compared to just 30 years ago.”