Matt Quade, a native of Corona, S.D., has been appointed manager of Paynesville's AMPI division.Quade started work May 3 with Ken Gniffke, long time manager who retired June 1. Quade will be responsible for member services in central Minnesota and operations at the Paynesville cheese processing facility.
"I'm looking forward to working for AMPI," Quade said. "AMPI's diversified manufacturing network will enable its members to be leading players in a competitive dairy industry."
"Gniffke helped build AMPI and will be hard to replace," said Mark Furth, AMPI general manager. Quade is a graduate of South Dakota State University's dairy manufacturing program. During his summers off from college, he worked in the AMPI southern region office. As the former manager of Bongards' Creameries, in Norwood/Young America, he has extensive experience in cheese manufacturing, quality control, and member services. Bondgards has three divisions, cheese, whey, and processing. Quade has been manager of all three divisions. He has worked with Bongards 14 years, seven of those years as general manager.
Quade and his wife, Becki, are building a new home in Paynesville. They have three children: McKenzie, 7, Matthew, 3, and McKayla, 2.
"I'm impressed with Paynesville. The people are very friendly and the town has a lot to offer for its size," Quade said.
"I'm happy to be part of AMPI. They have a great vision and goal, serving area dairy farmers to provide them with the best milk prices possible."
Paynesville is one of 13 plants owned by AMPI members.