ATCHISON, KANSAS, U.S. — Michael Buttshaw has joined MGP Ingredients, Inc. as vice-president of ingredients sales and marketing.

Buttshaw has nearly 30 years of food industry experience, and he has expertise in building profitable and sustainable sales and marketing platforms, along with technical knowledge in cereal grain science. He spent the past four years as vice-president of sales for the ingredient group at Southeastern Mills, Inc., a savory food and flour-based coating supplier to the food industry headquartered in Rome, Georgia, U.S. While leading the ingredient division, he designed and implemented a value-added sales and marketing platform. He was also responsible for the successful cultivation and establishment of key relationships with numerous multi-national branded companies across the food industry.

Prior to that, Buttshaw was vice-president of sales and marketing for Penford Food Ingredients, a specialty starch producer headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, U.S. This followed two years as vice-president of sales and business development — specialty enzymes for DSM Food Specialties, Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S. In this capacity, he led the sales and marketing development efforts for all specialty enzymes for use in flour-based baking applications, as well as sweet and savory snack food applications.

From 1985 to 2008, he was employed with Hormel. He began there as a process engineer in quality assurance and later served in a series of technical and management positions at various locations in the U.S. In 1999, he was promoted to national sales and marketing manager for Hormel’s specialty products division.

“We are excited to have Michael assume this important leadership role in our ingredient solutions business,” said Gus Griffin, president and chief executive officer of MGPI. “His extensive background in sales and marketing management, strategic planning and business development will be valuable in taking this area of our company to the next level.”

Buttshaw said joining MGPI is like “coming home.”

“The company’s strong customer centric approach is a perfect fit as we move the business forward in the years ahead,” he said. “I am excited about working closely with the existing team at MGP to build upon the strong platform already in place today.

“I believe MGP is well positioned to capitalize on the growing consumer trends around higher protein levels in foods and beverages. The company’s specialty starches provide excellent functional attributes in numerous food applications across the food industry.”

Buttshaw is an active member of key industry and professional organizations, including the Institute of Food Technologists and the Research Chefs Association.

He received a bachelor’s of arts degree in education with an emphasis in mathematics from Gustavas Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, U.S., in 1985, and a MMI in management and marketing from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., in 2002. He also completed executive training at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.