PRADCO-Fishing has announced changes in its internal organization structure. Bruce Stanton, Vice President and General Manager for PRADCO-Fishing, made the announcement today from the company’s Fort Smith offices.
Mark Cowan has been named Executive Director of Operations, and Chris Gulstad is now the Executive Director of Marketing.
Chris Gulstad
All marketing programs for PRADCO Fishing will be the responsibility of Gulstad. Brand Managers will report to Gulstad along with business and brand analysts, product development and Pacific Rim marketing. He started with PRADCO-Fishing in 2001 and most recently held the position of Global Fishing Brands Manager. Under Gulstad’s leadership, PRADCO Fishing’s social media efforts have grown to include four full-time employees along with a global audience of 1.8 million social media followers for all brands.
Mark Cowan
Cowan will be responsible for all operation activities including production, quality assurance, plant management, purchasing, inventory control and engineering. Prior to this position Cowan was Director of Operations He joined PRADCO-Fishing in 1996. Under Cowan’s leadership, Fort Smith’s manufacturing footprint has grown by 80 employees to a three-shift, 24-hour operation over the past 18 months. More manufacturing investments are expected to create another 50-60 jobs in Fort Smith by Jan. 1, 2018.
“Mark and Chris both have demonstrated a high level of personal integrity over their past 38 combined years at PRADCO,” Stanton said. “They each have a bias for action over simply planning or talking about it and are tone setters for our Customer-Driven culture. They are servants, which is a quality we want all of our associates to exhibit.”
Scott Faldon
In another move, Scott Faldon has been named Marketing Manager.
Faldon, a former newspaper sports editor, joined PRADCO-Fishing in 2014 and has been responsible for running social media and copywriting. As the Marketing Manager, Faldon will oversee graphic design, multimedia production, special content development and social media.
On the Operations side these promotions have been made:
• Nate Gonsoulin has been named Operations Manager.
• Bill Fingerhut has been named Production Manager.
• Tyler Colyer has been named Scheduling / Inventory Control Manager.
• Bruce Brown has been named Engineering Manager.
“PRADCO Fishing continues to reach new heights in product development, sales and customer satisfaction,” said Stanton. “With increased growth comes enhanced personnel demands, and we are very fortunate to have such quality employees that exceed all of our expectations and standards.”
PRADCO Fishing, a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries, Inc., is based in Fort Smith, Ark. and consists of top brands in fishing including Arbogast, Bandit, Bomber, BOOYAH Bait Co., Cotton Cordell, Creek Chub, Heddon, Lindy, Little Joe, Norman, Rebel, Silver Thread, Smithwick, Thill and YUM. For more information about the company and the brands go to www.pradcooutdoorbrands.com.
By: Jeff Puckett, Blue Heron Communicationa
