Koch Equipment LLC has announced that its board of directors has elected Steve Kingeter to the position of president.

In his new role, Kingeter will be responsible for the overall direction of the company including achieving the company’s strategic goals.

Kingeter joined Koch Equipment in 1997 as a product line manager of vacuum chamber packaging equipment. He was promoted to general sales manager in 2000, appointed to vice president of sales in 2004, and promoted again in 2005 to vice president of sales and marketing. Over the past two years, Kingeter has been charged with managing the company’s sales and marketing departments in support of the company’s strategic plan. Mr. Kingeter holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Finance from Austin College.

Koch Equipment LLC is a full line manufacturer and distributor of equipment for meat production, food processing, packaging, and labeling.

Elanco Animal Health has announced the promotion of Dr. Bill Platter to the position of manager of technical consultants for beef cattle. In this role he will lead a team of professionals conducting post-product-approval research, and providing technical services with a feedlot and stocker focus in the United States. These activities focus on work with veterinarians, nutritionists and meat scientists to improve animal health, production efficiencies and profitability within the beef industry.

Stan McCarthy has been appointed chief executive designate for Kerry Group in Tralee, Ireland. He will be replacing Hugh Friel, who is retiring as chief executive and director of Kerry Group on Dec. 31, 2007. McCarthy joined Kerry Group in 1976, when he worked in Finance at the company’s headquarters in Ireland. He was instrumental in establishing Kerry Americas in Beloit following the Group’s 1988 acquisition of Beatreme. He has served as Kerry Americas president since 1996 and will continue in his role as he transitions to his new position. Gerry Behan has been appointed President and CEO designate of Kerry Americas as of January 1, 2008. Behan will be responsible for leading Kerry’s regional ingredient businesses in Canada, the United States and Latin America. He has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Kerry Americas since 2004.

Mepaco of Beaver Dam, Wis., a provider of grinding, marinating, blending and material handling solutions for the meat-, poultry- and food-processing industries, announces that Andy Boisvert has joined the company as the Northeast Sales Engineer.

Wolf-tec, Inc. has announced the appointment of Kevin Moffett as National Accounts Manager. Moffett has 29 years of food industry experience most recently serving as Vice President of Operations for the Snow Ball Division of Coleman Natural Foods in Williamstown, NJ. For the past 22 years he has been directing operations with considerable experience in product formulation and processing procedures. Moffett currently resides in Pilesgrove, N.J.

Tosca Limited of Green Bay, Wis., announced that Dennis Williams has joined the company as director of new business development, effective Oct. 8, 2007. Williams’ primary focus will be developing new Reusable Plastic Container pooling opportunities within the meat and bakery market segments. Williams brings 20 years experience within the bakery material handling industry. For the last 10 years, Williams has been with Norseman Plastics in which he held various positions in senior level sales management. During his tenure, he was focused primarily on the meat and bakery industries helping Norseman develop a position in the U.S. market. Denny will reside at his home office in Broken Arrow, Okla.

Multivac, Inc. has announced the retirement of Donald E. Smith, chief technical officer. Smith joined Multivac in the mid-1970s as a service technician, a position from which he was able to draw tremendous insights into customer needs from both a technical and day-to-day business perspective. That knowledge would propel him to succeed in a number of positions at Multivac over the next three decades including regional sales manager, national sales manager, national service manager, and director of sales administration. Smith served as interim president of Multivac from 1997-1998, and took the role of chief technical officer in 2002.

Wixon, Inc., manufacturer of a line of ingredients for the food and beverage industries, has promoted Mariano Gascon from flavor lab director to vice president of research and development. In his new role Gascon will direct product and food technology developments through Wixon’s staff of food technologists, flavorists, and research professionals. Gascon is a certified flavor chemist and serves as national chairman of the Society of Flavor Chemists. He also is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists and the American Academy of Candy Technologists. He is a native of Mexico City, Mexico, and resides in Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemical engineering and a major in food sciences from National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, Mexico, and he is currently working on obtaining a master’s degree in product development at Northwestern University.