Scott Krebs appointed President of Wenger

In this position, Scott will drive strategic objectives and lead the Wenger team in the US, Denmark, Brazil, and all other countries. In close collaboration with the Marel leadership team, he will drive cross-selling of Marel solutions to customers in the Plant, Pet, and Feed business segment.

“I am very excited to welcome Scott to the role of President of Wenger. Scott has more than 30 years of experience in the field of extrusion technology and is well-known and respected for his many great achievements within Wenger, especially leading the successful build-up and growth of Extru-Tech, a company that is part of Wenger. With Scott on board, we ensure a continuation of the successful Wenger strategy and that we continue to strengthen our position and customer relationships in the Plant, Pet, and Feed business segment”, says Arni Sigurdsson, Chief Business Officer and Deputy CEO.

Scott joined Wenger in June 1991 and has since had a long and admirable career within Wenger, from an entry position as Project Engineer to the most recent executive role of President, Extru-Tech, a subsidiary of Wenger, focused on extrusion systems to produce human food, pet food, aquatic feed, and animal feed products. Scott has demonstrated excellent customer focus, operational and people leadership, and P&L management, and has been instrumental in building and improving the competitive position of Extru-Tech, resulting in more than 50% of profitable topline revenue coming from aftermarket services.

Scott holds a bachelor’s degree of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State University, and he lives in Sabetha, Kansas, US, with his family.

On this occasion, Marel would also like to extend a special and personal thank you to Jesper Hjortshøj for his dedication and valuable contribution in leading Wenger as interim President since the acquisition in July 2022. Jesper will continue to support Scott and the Wenger team during the transition and return his full focus to his leadership role as VP of Business Development at Marel.

A standalone platform for new and attractive growth markets

Wenger will operate as a standalone business division and leverage Marel's global reach and digital solutions to grow and expand the business. Marel will provide strategic direction and is committed to invest in the business and manufacturing capacity to drive commercial synergies and accelerate growth.

Wenger enjoys a diversified and loyal customer base ranging from blue-chip pet food processors to startup companies in plant-based proteins. Over 60% of Wenger’s revenues derive from pet food, where the company has a leading global position, and over 40% of revenues come from aftermarket services. This has resulted in Wenger’s healthy profitability with an EBIT margin of 14-15%, strong cash flow and solid return on invested capital. Q3 2022 was the first quarter where the newly acquired Wenger business was consolidated in Marel’s segment reporting under the name of ‘Plant, Pet and Feed,’ which also included Marel’s own sales of retail and food service solutions into this market segment.