Upon the establishment of LB Industrial Systems by Bob Lister and Gary Beckcom, Jim was provided stock in the company. For the next 20 years Jim continued to progress and become proficient in all aspects of LBIS operations. He participated in the estimation of costs and assembly of proposals. He helped establish and operate the pneumatic conveying laboratory. He refined pneumatic conveying algorithms and performed field datalogging to verify results. During this period many advances were made in long distance pneumatic conveying and mass storage technology. Jim was sought after by customers for his effectiveness with troubleshooting of operating systems. He listened to the customer and paid attention to details. Jim’s recommendations have led to many new projects.
After the untimely death of LBIS President, Gary Beckcom in 2017, the retirement of LBIS Vice President, Paul Kraus in 2021 and recent changes in the industry, Jim realized that LBIS needed a renewed purpose and refocus of direction. In December 2021 Jim bought out the remaining shares of the company and became its new president and CEO. In January 2022 he hired Bob Lister out of retirement as Vice President Business Development.
When asked about his vision for the company, Jim said “I would like to foster repeat business by continuing to nurture client trust through our collaborative approach to project management. We will serve the rapidly changing needs of the ash industry for processing, conveying and storage equipment while expanding our scope to cement, lime, slag, frac sand and other granular materials. Finally, I want to grow the business in a stable, sustainable manner with a capacity to handle three or four major projects at once.”
