Golden State Foods (GSF), headquartered in Irvine, California, and one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, has promoted Chad Buechel to president of KanPak U.S. From the GSF subsidiary’s headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, he will be responsible for all aspects of KanPak’s U.S. business, including its production of more than 18 million gallons of dairy products each year.
In his new role, Buechel will establish and execute KanPak’s U.S. strategic growth plan, including revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, operating efficiency, quality, and safety. He will also provide leadership to the executive team and establish a working relationship with the board of directors.
“We are excited to have someone with Chad’s leadership and experience join the KanPak family,” said KanPak U.S. CEO Larry McGill, who also serves as a corporate officer for Golden State Foods. “His knowledge of GSF and running large award-winning plants will continue to help us grow and provide opportunities for our team members. His people skills are evident, as well as his passion for the business.”
With more than 25 years in the food manufacturing industry, Buechel started his career on the shop floor with Pepsi Bottling Group and spent 20 years in 14 different locations working his way up to plant manager. In that role, he helped turn around a 17-million-case beverage plant with four production lines, a distribution operation, and the facility’s on-site fleet management.
Buechel also served as an operations manager for Nestle in Tulare, California, where he was second in command for the world’s largest ice cream processing facility. As a plant manager for Nestle, he was responsible for an eight-line ice cream processing plant delivering more than $250 million in annual sales. For two years at Kraft Heinz Company in Tulare, he was responsible for a cheese and dairy facility and leading nine team members. Before joining GSF, he oversaw safety, compliance, and operating effectiveness of three compositing facilities in California for Synagro Technologies.
