Marel Stork Poultry Processing announced the appointment of Jim James to the position of Vice President Technical Services in their Gainesville, Ga. location. In this capacity, James will head up departments responsible for service, parts, technology testing and project management.

James brings 28 years of processing knowledge of broilers, turkeys and ducks to his new role. His experience spans every department of a processing facility as well as many years in sales and management within the poultry equipment industry.

“Jim was the right choice to lead the teams caring for our customers after the sale during this next stage in the departments’ development,” said Einar Einarrson, President. “He has the right skillset to bring together a lean and efficient organization with a laser focus on our customer partners and their needs.”

James plans to further strengthen the processes and systems that best support customers while looking for ways to reinforce a customer-focused mindset and operating philosophy.

“My goal is for the after sales departments to create deeper relationships with our customers through continuous improvement to bring the best added value to our customers,” James explained.

He sees a real opportunity with the group of people he has been tapped to lead.

“This is a strong team. We are going to work together to put customer focus as the core of our growth in the future,” he said.

Because of James’ deep ties to the industry, he knows that communication is at the heart of any plan to keep the customer first in your day-to-day focus. He supports regular, open communication between Marel Stork employees and customers. He also has an open door/open phone policy for himself.

“I want to hear from our customers,” he said, “if we are doing something right and when we have room to improve. Feedback is the most valuable driver for a learning organization.”