Peter Brooks, Co-Owner
A resident of Las Vegas, NV, Peter is a co-owner of ABI. Peter has been involved in the corn refining industry for some 35 years. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Technology from the University of Georgia. Additionally, he attended Georgia Tech and Rutgers University to continue his education and interest in Food Engineering. In 1971, Peter joined the Hubinger Company of Keokuk, Iowa and was credited with several new modified food starch inventions for the baking and confectionary industry. Today, Peter provides technical guidance and expertise associated with setting corporate strategy.
Chuck Carvette, Co-Owner
A resident of Las Vegas, NV, Chuck is the other co-owner of ABI. Chuck has been involved in the corn refining industry for over 30 years. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from The University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. Chuck joined the Hubinger Company in 1978 as its Regional Sales Manager. In 1981 he left Hubinger to form Industrial Ingredients, Inc. with Peter Brooks. Today, Chuck provides sales guidance and expertise associated with setting corporate strategy.
Randy Schmelzel, President
Located in Keokuk, Iowa, Randy has more than 35 years of experience in food products involving ingredients and prepared foods. His career has spanned sweeteners, vegetable and fruit extracts, flavoring and spices, meat and vegetable dehydration, and bakery-ingredients fruit preps. He has held senior management positions with Celanese, Tastemaker, Burns Philp Foods, River Ranch Produce and Oberto Sausage Company. Randy has been directly involved in successfully integrating multiple acquisitions totaling over $100 million in food ingredients sales annually. Randy has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, and is a registered Professional Engineer. He joined ABI in 2003.
Charles Cross, CFO
A resident of Keokuk, IA, Charles has more than 25 years experience in the Food Service industry. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the U.K., serving with PriceWaterhouse / Coopers in London, U.K. and Paris France. This was followed by an extensive corporate career in senior management with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Brussels, Belgium and with PepsiCo, Inc. both in Paris, France and Purchase, New York. Charles has 15 plus years experience as a CFO, primarily in Food and Beverage related companies. He joined ABI in April 2009.
John Fannon, PhD, Vice President Technical Services
A resident of St. Louis, MO, John has more than 20 years experience in the Food Service industry. His career began with National Starch as their R & D Project Manager and continued at Penford Foods as their Director of Commercialization and Research. John went on to Solae (DuPont subsidiary) as their Research Director and, after leaving Solae, John started J.P. Technologies where he acted as a consultant throughout the U.S. and abroad advising on carbohydrate projects. John received his Ph.D. in Food Science from Purdue University in 1991. His research dissertation was titled “Corn Starch Structure, Behavior and Reactivity”. He joined ABI in 2007.
Stephanie Slattery, Vice President Purchasing
A resident of the greater Davenport, Iowa area, Stephanie has over 16 years of experience with ABI. Her expertise includes Logistics, Purchasing, Customer Service and Sales. She is a licensed freight broker and has international experience negotiating freight services for the U.S. Transportation Department. Stephanie is fluent in German and English. Prior to serving as VP of Purchasing, she progressively held key management positions in ABI that included Sales Manager for Textiles and Customer Service Manager. Stephanie was born in Germany and received her formal education in the Mannheim, Germany area which included a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Management from Private Handelsschule Vincent Stock. She moved to the United States in 1990 and has been with ABI since 1995.
Matt Stelzer, Vice President Operations
A resident of Tucson, AZ, Matt has over 27 years of experience in plant and production management. His career began with Chiquita Brands in Jamaica, followed by 7 years with Ralston Purina in Venezuela, Korea and lastly Canada, where he was General Manager and Director of Operations for the Alberta plant. After leaving Ralston, Matt joined Continental Grain Co. and was General Manager for their plants in Ecuador and Mexico City. In 1994 he returned to the US with Pacific Grain Products and in 1996 he moved back to AZ as a consultant to food producers. Matt has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Economics and Finance from the University of Arizona. He is fluent in several languages including Spanish. He joined ABI in 2006 to oversee plant operations in the US.
