LEUVEN, BELGIUM — Earlier this month, TOMRA’s division TOMRA Food announced it expanded its Processed Food sector, which offers sorting for potato, nut, vegetable, dried fruit, meat and poultry, proteins and pet food, with the appointment of four new senior leaders. According to the company, the appointments will allow it to better serve consumers in providing sorting solutions and technical support.

Two new senior managers have been added to the company’s existing roles, and two new positions have been created, increasing the company’s senior management team to eight. All appointments will be in effect this month.

Karel Strubbe has been promoted to TOMRA Processed Food’s head of global sales. Since starting his career with TOMRA Food in 2007, Strubbe served as area sales manager, aiding in the company’s operational needs.

Vera Boon has been appointed to head of service. Prior to TOMRA Processed Food, Boon served as global services leader at Ingersoll Rand, which provides mission-critical air, fluid, energy, specialty vehicle and medical technology.

Kris De Smart has been appointed to head of product management. Smart has experience in directing product management in security and video surveillance and previously served as product management leader for video at GE Security.

Vanessa Sibenaler has joined the TOMRA Processed Food team as head of people and organization. Sibenaler previously served as human resources director of Additives International, a sector of ITW, manufacturer of specialty research chemicals for automotive. She has served as human resources director eastern hemisphere for T.D. Williamson, a pipeline equipment company.

According to TOMRA Processed Food’s Chief Executive Officer Ken Moynihan, these appointments result from an internal review of the business.

"The future of food processing will be more complex and sophisticated as we support our customers to increase yields and quality to meet growing demand,” Moynihan said. “These changes will demand sensing and sorting technology innovations, artificially intelligent self-optimizing lines, and digitally connected data-driven support services. TOMRA will be a leader in this transformation, ensuring our customers stay at the forefront of these exciting changes and opportunities, and operate at their full capability every hour, every day, all year round.

"To lead the way, we need a strong, innovative, and customer-centric organization that understands our customers intimately; feels their pain and shares in their successes and is driven to innovate and create new solutions that take our customers into their future,” he added. “After a year evaluating the organization, listening to our customers and our people, we have set our strategy and now taken the first steps toward that future with these four new appointments."

TOMRA Food reorganized its business in 2021, separating fresh food and processed food, and appointed Moynihan to chief executive officer of TOMRA Processed Food.

"As a global business, it is essential that our leaders have wide-reaching global experience and a deep understanding of our customers so we can grow together,” Moynihan said. “Our customers know their businesses better than anybody else, but we know the most effective technical solutions for their businesses better than anybody else. Put those two abilities together, and magic happens.

"We are going to move further and faster along our path from being a global technology provider to being a global solutions provider, leading the industry by creating new value for all our customers, and ensuring their plants run at maximum efficiency 24 hours per day, seven days per week,” he added.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.