Industry News News
USNR announces management changes

“USNR has grown dramatically over the last several years, both organically and via the acquisitions of Söderhamn Eriksson, Ventek, and most recently Mid-South Engineering,” Van Hoomissen said. “These promotions will allow us to better manage our larger, more complex business and to continue to deliver the excellent products and services that our customers expect.”

Dale Brown: president of USNR
Dale will be responsible for overseeing all day-to-day operations of USNR. A graduate of the business program at Linfield College, Dale began his professional career when he joined USNR as an accounting clerk in 1986. Since that time, Dale has been promoted numerous times, progressively gaining greater responsibilities within the company and, along the way, developing experience and expertise across all the major functions of the business. Dale’s dedication to USNR’s employees and customers has earned him widespread respect throughout the industry, and his many years of excellent work have demonstrated clearly that he has the necessary knowledge, skills, and judgment to successfully lead USNR.

Eric Brousseau: vice-president – Manufacturing
Eric will be responsible for overseeing USNR’s global manufacturing operations. After earning his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at McGill University, Eric joined the Forano business in 1994 as a mechanical engineer. He was later promoted to be Forano’s Engineering Manager, which was the position he held at the time USNR acquired Forano in 2001. For the past 13 years, Eric has been the General Manager of USNR’s Plessisville operations where he has driven a program of continuous innovation and process improvement.

Chuck Van Horn: vice-president – Capital Projects
Chuck will continue to be responsible for overseeing USNR’s capital machinery projects, but now as a vice-president. This promotion recognizes the critical role Chuck plays within USNR’s management organization. After studying forestry at Ohio State University and spending four years in the United States Air Force, in 1990 Chuck joined the Hemco business, which was later acquired by USNR. Starting as a service technician based in Hot Springs, Chuck has progressed through jobs in electrical design and PLC programming, then later held several management roles in which he was responsible for overseeing service, electrical engineering, and controls engineering departments. Since 2015, Chuck has served as USNR’s director of Capital Projects.

Mark Culpepper: vice-president – Turn-key Projects
Along with a team of project managers that he will direct, Mark will be responsible for managing all turn-key projects for USNR. Mark comes into this role after more than 32 years at Mid-South Engineering, most recently as Vice President. Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering in 1983 from the University of Arkansas. He is a registered Professional Engineer in multiple US states. Over the course of his career with Mid-South Engineering, he served as project manager for over 25 greenfield and major brownfield sawmill projects, in addition to managing hundreds of other industrial projects involving wood pellets, LVL, plywood, structural wood products, and other industries outside of wood products.