Mulberry, FL – The board of directors of Highland Ag Solutions is proud to announce that Justin Machell has just been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Justin is a produce industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in both the fresh produce and ranching communities. Current CEO and Founder, Steve Maxwell will assume the role of Chairman of the Board for the company.
In 2003, Justin was hired to the sales and procurement desk at Gulf Coast Produce, Inc. where he would eventually meet Steve Maxwell, a salesman for one of his packaging vendors. In 2007 he was hired by Steve, who was the new owner of Highland Packaging Solutions. Justin held multiple positions over the next 13 years, from operations to Ag-Packaging Sales Manager. During his tenure there, his team executed customer-centric sales strategies achieving over $100 million in revenue. He was a certified GS1 Barcode Consultant and was instrumental in helping customers reach compliance in product barcoding and traceability. In 2018 Highland was acquired by Sonoco, a $5 billion valued publicly traded company, and over the 18 months, was the lead in ERP systems integration and standardization between Peninsula Packaging and Highland, both acquired companies of Sonoco. He joined Steve and the Highland Ag Solutions team in January of 2020 as Vice President of Business Development, and then moved up to Chief Operating Officer in September of 2020.
“I know that I speak for everyone at Highland Ag in thanking Steve for his leadership, investment, and dedication to the company,” said Machell. “I am honored and incredibly excited to assume this new role and for the future of our company. We have a world-class, exceptionally talented team driving a period of significant growth and innovation. It is my goal to guide our company in reaching its full potential while delivering technology solutions that create a safer, more sustainable global food supply.”
About Highland Ag Solutions
Highland Ag Solutions is virtualizing the business of agriculture by converting the modern farm into a comprehensive digital platform, Highland Hub – a digital ecosystem for growers, marketers, food safety directors, packing house managers and other agricultural employees. Highland Hub provides applications to help to run your business from soil to sale easily and efficiently with the goal of enhancing farm operations, easing the regulatory burden, and maximizing finished-good returns. Learn more at www.highlandhasit.com