ALBERTVILLE, ALA. — FSGroup, a supplier of customized services and tailored solutions for material transport equipment with the food and beverage industries, announced that Jeff Saunders was promoted to chief operating officer.

Saunders, who works in Gainesville, Ga., initially joined the company as director of projects and sales engineering support. He has experience in operations, production, project management, sales engineering, support and supply chain management.

“Jeff successfully navigated supply chain challenges during COVID, building strong supplier relationships, improving on-time delivery, quality, inventory levels and reducing costs,” said Rocky Frazier, chief executive officer of FSGroup. “We are excited that he brings this invaluable experience and project management expertise to FSGroup.” 

In May 2024, Saunder joined FSGroup as director of projects and sales engineering support but has quickly made an impression on the company’s executive team.

“His skillset coupled with his attention to detail was exactly what we were looking for in this role,” said Greg Cagle, chief strategy officer for FSGroup. “After 37 years in this business, it is exciting to embark on FSGroup’s expansion initiatives alongside Jeff, we are aligned in our vision and operational strategy for driving the company forward.”

During his career, Saunders worked on improving operational efficiency, minimizing profit variances, implementing effective manufacturing processes, leading successful transitions and top sales performance.

While working with the FSGroup executive team, Saunders will identify the essential structure of the company and assess efficiencies to keep the company growing. Some of his responsibilities include translating strategy into actionable steps for growth, implementing organization-wide goal setting, performance management and annual operations planning.

“I am looking forward to contributing to the development and implementation of an operational infrastructure that fosters growth and leads FSGroup into a new era,” Saunders said. 

In the role of COO, Saunders will work with Devan Orange, vice president of sales and service to provide solutions to its food and beverage customers.

“Jeff’s background in all facets of manufacturing operations is going to be instrumental in our ability to effectively meet the unique needs of each of our customers,” Orange said. “His fresh perspective for oversight of engineering, production, supply chain and fleet logistics will no doubt improve our efficiencies, allowing us to take an innovative approach to diversifying our product lines.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Saunder previously worked in management roles on the sales team for Meyn Food Processing Technology and Cantrell LLC.