St. Joseph, Michigan -- Maury Salz has taken office as 2018-2019 president of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), joining recently elected trustees Paul F. Burkner, PE, Jane R. Frankenberger, and Roger M. Hoy, as well as President-Elect Sue E. Nokes, PE, on the Society's governing board.
Salz is president of CLAAS Omaha, Inc., manufacturer of LEXION combines and headers for North America, where he is responsible for production operations, including research and development, purchasing, quality, and logistics and manufacturing. He has worked for CLAAS for 17 years, serving as president since 2007. He holds seven patents relating to tractor drive systems and cotton harvesting and combine harvesting products.
Salz grew up on a family farm in northwest Iowa and continues to participate with his family in corn and soybean farming operations. He holds a BS in agricultural engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from St. Ambrose University. He is a 19-year member of ASABE.
Taking office as president-elect is Sue E. Nokes, PE, professor at the University of Kentucky. Named a Fellow in 2016, Nokes has been an ASABE member for 30 years and served on the Board of Trustees as treasurer from 2013 to 2017 and on the Finance committee from 2007 to 2017. She recently stepped down as head of UK's biosystems and agricultural engineering department, a position she had held since 2001.
Also recently assuming ASABE office are three newly installed trustees, each of whom will serve three-year terms. They include:
- Paul F. Burkner, PE, Vice President Ag Industrial Manufacturing, Inc., dba as AIM, Inc., Stockton, California
- Jane R. Frankenberger, professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering,
- Roger M. Hoy, professor and director of the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab at the University of Nebraska
ASABE is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Further information on the Society can be obtained by contacting ASABE at (269) 429-0300, emailing hq@asabe.org, or visiting www.asabe.org/.