Carl Kah Jr., founder and CEO of K-Rain Manufacturing, is being recognized by the Irrigation Association for his lifelong contributions to the advancement of the irrigation industry.
With more than 100 patents to his name, Kah began his innovation in irrigation technologies in his garage in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the 1940s. Since then, he has built K-Rain to be the company it is today: an engineering-first company that employs more than 400 people worldwide. Kah’s passion for his work is evident in his continued work in developing new patents, according to the company.
“What I’ve always loved throughout my career is being able to increase water effectiveness and efficiency as well as bring benefits like increased productivity and competitive differentiation to market,” Kah said.
Diamond Mowers has appointed Wayne Baumberger as its new president.
Founder Bill Doyle will step down from the role of president but will remain the company’s CEO.
Baumberger comes to Diamond from Caterpillar, where he’s spent the past 22-plus years in engineering, development, production and operational roles. He graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with a mechanical engineering degree.
Sipcam Agro USA named John Gertz to lead its North American business as CEO, reporting to the board of directors and Global Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Affaba.
Gertz has a proven track record of product development advancement, business growth and value-add throughout all levels of the chemical and specialty input industry. He has been working in the industry since 1995, starting in sales and marketing roles with basic discovery, post-patent and specialty fertility manufacturers.
In 2007, Gertz transitioned to the distribution side of the industry. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in agronomy and crop sciences from the University of Georgia.
Excel Industries, a manufacturer of commercial and residential turf equipment sold under the Hustler Turf Equipment and BigDog Mower Co. brand names, appointed Bobby Kindle to director of quality.
In this role, he will provide strategic and tactical leadership for the manufacturing quality team and be responsible for the development and execution of the overall product quality plan, standards and key performance indicators.
Kindle brings more than 15 years of experience in leadership and industrial manufacturing to Excel. Most recently, he served as a quality engineer for Wesco Aircraft, where he was responsible for the execution of the company’s quality system and implementing change for process improvements. He also spent time working for Big Dog Motorcycles, Cessna Aircraft and Senior Composites, among others. Kindle earned his Bachelor of Science in operations management at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan.
Takeuchi-US announced Shay Klusmeyer as regional manager, effective immediately.
His responsibilities include all sales development and activity within Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and west Texas. As the regional manager, Klusmeyer’s main responsibility is to achieve region market share objectives through dealer activities such as development, recruiting, goal setting, sales planning and performance evaluations. His other areas of focus will include inventory control, program promotion and communication, forecasting, as well as national and direct rental account support.
With eight years of sales experience, Klusmeyer has worked for manufacturers throughout his career. Most recently, he was a regional business manager for Mahindra Americas, where he oversaw the growth and development of different product lines. Klusmeyer graduated with a Bachelor of Science in agricultural economics in 2011 from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. Additionally, he plans to graduate with a Master of Business Administration in December from Oklahoma State.
Blue Heron, a southern Nevada-based modern design/build firm, added Ryan Thompson as chief marketing officer.
Thompson will oversee the evolution of the Blue Heron brand, strategic vision, marketing strategy and media across all platforms. He brings more than 15 years of experience from award-winning and globally recognized advertising agencies and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of San Francisco.
Most recently, Thompson served as the senior vice president of global hospitality marketing with Caesars Entertainment and spent six years as part of the senior leadership team at both the property and corporate level. During his tenure, he was an integral part of the team’s success in the Las Vegas region, which included nine properties, with a focus on effective brand campaigns, award-winning restaurant concepts, experiential events and activations, as well as the global development and launch of the Caesars Palace brand internationally.
Eric Torrell has been appointed regional sales manager, west region, for LTA Manufacturing.
LTA Manufacturing was formed in September of 2017 and is the parent company of ATC Truck Covers, Jason Industries and Ranch Fiberglass, as well as LoadMaster in-pickup bed cargo carrying systems.
Torrell began his career at a Thermo King dealership in Seattle and was promoted to the position of district sales manager of Thermo King Corporation in 1992. He was named district sales manager of the year for Thermo King Corporation in 1994. In 1995, he was promoted to national accounts. After working several years in the national accounts, he helped the parent company, Ingersoll Rand, launch a retail solutions division. After spending 13 years at Thermo King Corporation, Torrell opted to go back to the dealer side of the business for ten years serving as vice president of sales responsible for equipment sales for Thermo King West, based in Phoenix, Ariz., which owned seven Thermo King dealerships.
After his career with Thermo King, Torrell held the position of director of fleet sales for Desert Trailer Systems, a utility trailer dealership, located in Boise, Idaho. Most recently he served as northwest sales manager for National Truck Protection, a provider of warranties and service contracts to the used semi-truck industry. Torrell has an undergraduate degree from The University of Washington, Seattle.
In other LTA Manufacturing news, Mike Simunic has been appointed COO of the company.
Simunic will be responsible for logistics, supply chain, quality, design and manufacturing at both of the company’s manufacturing facilities, which are located in Ottawa, Kan., and Elkhart, Ind.
Simunic is a Youngstown, Ohio, native and graduated from Youngstown State University. He has more than 30 years of experience in the manufacturing sector, having worked for a retail refrigeration manufacturer, a Tier One automotive supplier providing components to automotive manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota and several specialty equipment manufacturers. He spent 20 years with Johnson Controls Automotive in a global environment.
