Our Team

Greg Heiland

Founder

Originally from Chicago, Greg has been a Phoenician since 1965.   After graduating from Santa Clara University in 1982, he started his career in contamination control in sales, and management for Baxter Scientific Products (now Avantor / VWR). In 1988, Greg and his wife, Mary, founded Sierra Scientific, the first Arizona based cleanroom products distributor. They acquired a Texas-based supplier, Class 10, and started Valutek, a controlled environment consumables manufacturer in 2000. Valutek Asia Sdn BHd was established in 2004 to support logistics, quality, and supply chain functions.

Based on his decades-long commitment to the controlled environment industry, Greg was the 2018 recipient of the IEST Robert L Mielke award.  He is currently IEST board Fiscal VP and is active in the development and revisions on the IEST Recommended Practices for Apparel, Wipers, Swabs, Cleaning & Gloves. Greg is passionate about sharing his insight and experiences with clients and is committed to ensuring that his industry “thought leadership” is shared publicly.

Greg enjoys traveling, reading, the outdoors, and spending time with his family.

John Heiland

President

A native Arizonan, John graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2015 with a degree in business. Upon graduation, John worked as a teacher in the Alumni Service Corp at his alma mater Brophy Prep and then worked at U-Haul’s corporate headquarters on their public relations team.

John officially joined the Valutek staff at the beginning of 2019 but has unofficially worked for the family business since he could walk, talk, and move boxes in the warehouse. He oversees sales, marketing, and operations. In his current role, John is most satisfied when Valutek customers receive the right product, on time, and are supported by a team that is committed to the customer’s long-term success. On the weekends, John, and his wife Sam (with dogs Panda and Nacho), spend their free time boating, camping, or road-tripping somewhere new. John spends his free time tinkering with home improvement projects and maintaining his collection of on-road, off-road, and water vehicles

Reach John directly at jheiland@valutek.com.

Neal Woods

National Sales Manager

Neal graduated from Penn State University and started his career in controlled environment manufacturing and contamination control over 25 years ago. As a recognized contamination control thought leader, he and his family relocated to Chicago in 2006. His hands-on experience includes doing audits and assessments for industry-leading organizations in life science and advanced materials. Neal recognizes that each critical environment is different, and he commits the resources to do on-site discovery to ensure that the Valutek product recommendations are the most appropriate for each application.

Once the Valutek product solutions are tested, qualified, and approved, Neal is the customer ambassador to ensure the entire Valutek team is aligned with specific client expectations. This includes dedicated inventory allocations, certificates of compliance reporting, updating usage forecasts as demand shifts, and conducting scheduled on-site meetings to review Valutek’s’ performance. In his free time, Neal enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors, and being with his wife Michele, family, and friends.

Reach Neal directly at nwoods@valutek.com or (630) 669-3003.

Yunus Akcali, Ph.D.

Marketing Manager

Yunus joined the Valutek Team in 2021 and coordinates all Marketing resources. This involves managing multiple platforms to ensure that our customers have hassle-free online access to product orders, specifications, comparisons, and the full technical library.

Yunus analyzes customer data by segments to ensure that the Valutek team is providing the most appropriate marketing collateral based on a client’s specific application. He oversees the technical staff that develops blogs, case studies, and other relevant digital content to help customers have the best possible outcome using Valutek products.

Originally from Turkey, Yunus has a master’s degree from Selcuk University in Public Administration, a Doctorate from the University of Porto in Contemporary History, and most recently a master of Professional Studies, Data and Business Analytics from Penn State University. Yunus’ enthusiasm for travel and history led him to travel to different parts of the world and explore “Old World” ancient civilizations and cultures.

In his spare time, Yunus enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with family and friends.

Reach Yunus directly at yakcali@valutek.com.

Nicholas Kadlec

Senior Controller | Director of Finance

The youngest of 9 children, Nick received an accounting degree from Keller Graduate School while working full-time. A native Chicagoan, Nick and his family relocated to Arizona in 1998. During his 22-year career with Atkore International, Nick voluntarily lead ERP implementations and lean manufacturing initiatives, in addition to his leadership role on the finance team.

At Valutek, Nick embraces challenging opportunities including (but not limited to) continuous change actions that reduce costs, enhance quality, and increase operating margins.

Nick is a servant leader, and his direct reports know that he is always interested in their individual success. As the finance leader, Nick interprets financial data to ensure the business model is financially viable, and that business investments generate acceptable returns. As Nick is “hands-on” repairing his motorcycle collection, or completing home improvement projects, no task is beneath him at Valutek. On the weekends, Nick takes great pleasure in spending time with his family.

Reach Nicholas directly at nkadlec@valutek.com or 602.761.2310.

Daniel Preston

Staff Accountant

Originally from Seattle, Daniel earned an Associate degree from Bellevue College. He then re-located to Arizona in 2017 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Grand Canyon University while working full-time. At Valutek, in addition to executing daily accounting transactions, Daniel performs month-end closing and manages all financial reporting with precision and attention to detail. He is a strong team player who is willing and able to assist other departments based on business requirements. Daniel ensures that Valutek’s financial data inputs are audited and that the quality of our financial data is accurate and updated in real-time.

On the weekend, Daniel enjoys taking his dog Kevin on walks at the park and playing a round of golf. He is also active in both a 2-person and 4-person sand volleyball league.

Reach Daniel directly at dpreston@valutek.com.

Michael Readeagle

Warehouse Technician

Michael began in the Valutek warehouse in 2020 and proved to be a hard worker and willing to tackle any project. He specializes in cleanroom production and inventory management.

Reach Michael directly at mredeagle@valutek.com.