Sonntag served on the board of FEMA (Farm Equipment Manufacturers’ Association) and was a strong advocate of AMC (Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada) and SMI (Spring Manufacturers’ Institute).  Bob has enjoyed traveling on behalf of his business, building relationships with friends, customers, and suppliers around the world.  His career has demonstrated a passion for and understanding of the industry, a keen sense of humor, and ongoing dedication to the S3 team.

Bob began stepping back from day-to-day operations several years ago, appointing the very capable management team of Richelle Andreas, CEO, Joe Gallant, GM S3 Wireform, Al Marques GM S3 Manufacturing, and Ida van Scyoc, GM S3 Delta Harrows. Bob professed,

“It’s amazing what they have accomplished without me holding them back.”

Forage Capital Partners and Roynat Equity Partners are pleased to have invested in S3 upon Bob’s retirement. Steven Leakos, Managing Director of Forage Capital commented,

“The thing that impressed us about S3 was its culture, its willingness to approach the market differently, and its leadership. We are very excited about what the future holds for S3.”

“We look forward to expanding upon S3’s remarkable success and partnering with the S3 team as we continue to support the ongoing growth,”

said Tobin Hayward, Director at Roynat Equity Partners.

Source: S3 Enterprises

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Spackler will continue in his role as CEO until a successor is named and the transition in leadership is complete.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and everyone at AGP, I want to thank Keith for his leadership, dedication, and commitment during his 36 years of service to the Company,”

said Lowell Wilson, Chairman of the AGP Board of Directors.

“Throughout his tenure, Keith advanced a work environment and business culture that allowed AGP to generate outstanding financial and operational results, and a strong strategic position. In doing so, the Company successfully achieved its mission to add value for its cooperative members and their producer-owners.”

“Working with so many exceptional people in achieving success at AGP has been a tremendous honor and privilege,”

said Spackler.

“The dedication and effectiveness of the AGP Board, management, and employee teams allow us to consistently add value and returns for our cooperative owners. We have great confidence in the strength of our overall team and the continued ability of AGP to capitalize on future opportunities. I am fortunate and proud to be a part of the cooperative system dedicated to serving agriculture.”

During Spackler’s leadership tenure, AGP achieved substantial growth in volumes and profitability, focusing on its core businesses. Over the past nine years, the Company made extensive investments to expand capacity and improve efficiencies at each of its ten soybean processing plants, four refineries, three biodiesel plants, and export operations.

Highlights include a doubling of capacity at its Hastings, Nebraska processing facility, addition of a new processing plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota, completion of a new refinery and doubling of its biodiesel plant at Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, as well as reinvesting at all facilities. At the same time, AGP substantially increased earnings and cash returns to its cooperative owners, while maintaining an extremely strong financial position.

Spackler’s career spans over 40 years in agribusiness. After working in commodities and economic analysis, he joined AGP in May 1985. With responsibilities in business analysis, strategic planning, and finance, Spackler was promoted to roles of expanded responsibility throughout his career. He served from 2001-2012 as AGP’s Chief Financial Officer and was named Chief Executive Officer in September 2012. He remains active at the board level with various cooperative-related associations. In connection with Spackler’s upcoming retirement, the AGP Board has initiated a process to identify the Company’s next CEO.

Source: AG Processing

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Since 1976, Neil Smith has represented JCB, the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of construction, agriculture, and defense equipment, in a number of roles, most recently as the head of the company’s North American demonstration team.  But you can also find him in the Guinness Book of World Records as the holder of the record for the longest trip made in an excavator, or as the driver of the world-famous 100 mph drag-racing backhoe, the JCB GT. Today the company celebrated the achievements of Smith, whose career with JCB took him to over 50 countries and whose skills and ‘can-do’ attitude, have left a lasting impact on countless team members’ lives.

Speaking at today’s ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Pooler, Georgia JCB North America President and CEO, Richard Fox-Marrs commented on Smith’s career:

Neil’s initial mission in North America was to set up the demo facility and he set it up well, putting the same exacting standards in place in Savannah that he’d seen in the UK. He really did create an excellent facility and team that has stood the test of time. All of us here at JCB wish Neil the very best in his retirement, we are extremely grateful for all of his contributions to the success of the company in his 44-year career, and he will be held in the highest regard.

Beginning a 44-year career

Born in Rocester, United Kingdom, the home of JCB’s World Headquarters, working for JCB was a natural fit for Smith as both his father and older brother both worked for JCB.

“I walked past JCB every day to get to secondary school, says Smith. In fact, at 12 or 13 years old, my friends and I were walking home and decided to stop into the Marketing Department to pick up brochures for a school project.  It was this experience that made me realize just how great of a company JCB is, and I knew then that this was where I wanted to be one day.”

Flash forward a few years and Smith would find himself joining the ranks of JCB in the machine shop, Bay 1 to be exact, working with numerically controlled machines.  Smith served in several other roles at JCB until joining the UK Demonstration Team in 1980 where he spent his first six months learning the ins and outs of the JCB backhoe in order to perform with the world-famous JCB Dancing Diggers.  After his initial six months of training, Smith’s first Dancing Diggers performance was at a global construction equipment show called Bauma held in Munich, Germany in 1980.

“What’s Your Next Move”

For years Smith supported global JCB events from based in the UK, including trade shows, dealer events, and even customer installations.  But why leave the UK? When asked “What brought you to the United States?” Smith laughs with a knowing laugh and says, “That’s a funny story.”

And as the story unfolds, it sounds more like a movie plot than an equipment company job offer. Smith says in 2000 he came across from the UK to support JCB Marketing efforts with the Superbowl in Atlanta, GA. After the event, John Patterson, JCB Group CEO at the time, said to Smith “What’s your next move?” and it was then that Smith made a statement that would change his life, “I’ve always wanted to move to the States.”

Six months later, Smith and his wife and their two daughters would move to the United States so that Smith could help open JCB’s North American headquarters in Savannah, GA, and lead the North American Demonstration Team.

Smith’s career in the States has provided him a number of unique opportunities, from driving the “Backhoe Across America,” to creating Santa’s sleigh for The Lady Bamford Center for Early Childhood Development, to designing and building one of the region’s most enjoyable mud run courses, and becoming the driver of the JCB GT.

When the subject of the JCB GT comes up, Smith says, with a glint in his eye, that he was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”  The JCB GT is the drag racing backhoe that can reach speeds over 100 mph thanks to its supercharged 572 big block Chevrolet V8 engine.  After a chance walk past a manager’s window, Smith is one of only 2 people in the global company who is certified to drive the GT.  But it’s through the GT that Smith had several experiences of a lifetime, including drag racing down a professional test track and spending time with the television show “Top Gear.”

During his final days in the office at JCB, Smith recounts the number of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that his career at JCB has afforded him.  And when asked what his secret to working at the same place for 44 years is, he smiles and says “It’s been a privilege to do what I do. I’ve been fortunate to never have woken up and said ‘I have to go to work’ it’s more like ‘I get to go to work’.”

Source: JCB

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Following nearly two decades at Claas and an even longer career in the farm equipment industry, Claas Omaha President Maury Salz announced his retirement. Matthias “Matt” Ristow has assumed the role of president of Claas Omaha, the combined production company for Claas in North America.

Leif Magnusson, president of Claas Global Sales – Americas, says:

“We would like to thank Maury very much for his successful work at Claas throughout the years. Many of our North American operations were shaped and further developed under his hard work and effective leadership. He had a hand in the evolution of the LEXION combine in North America for nearly two decades.”

During Maury’s 19 years at Claas , he was responsible for a wide range of North American operations including research and development, purchasing, quality, logistics, and manufacturing. Most recently, Salz oversaw the production of the all-new 8000-7000 Series LEXION combines, which returned to the bright “seed-green” Claas color after many years of Caterpillar yellow.

In 2018–19, Maury served as president for the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and actively participates in executive committees for the advancement of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He officially finished his year-long commitment to the organization as past president at the ASABE International Meeting this July.

The incoming Claas Omaha president, Matt Ristow, has been with the company for six years — first serving as Vice President – Finance & Operations, and now President & Managing Director, Business Administration. The planned transition has been a smooth one.

Matt was born in Germany and came to the United States as a high school exchange student. He continued his higher education in the U.S., receiving a bachelor’s degree in business general administration and a master’s in international business from Fresno State in California. Matt returned to Germany and worked for the largest privately-held service company in Europe, holding progressive positions overseeing controlling before returning to the U.S. and beginning an international career that led him from the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey in senior executive positions.

Magnusson says:

“We wish Maury the best of luck in his retirement on his family farm in Northwest Iowa. Looking ahead, we are extremely excited for Matt to take on this new role. We recognize his dedication to continuously improving our products, and we are more than confident in his leadership for Claas of Omaha.”

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