PRESS RELEASE
24 April 2003

For more information contact:
Terri Rondeau, director, corporate communications
Besser Company
801 Johnson Street
Alpena, Michigan 49707 USA
e-mail: trondeau@besser.com 
phone: 989.354.1040
fax: 989.354.3120

Besser Introduces New Regional Manager

Octavio (O.C.) Blanchet has joined Besser Company as western regional manager for concrete masonry, responsible for sales in the western United States. “We are pleased that O.C. has joined the Besser staff. His extensive knowledge of the industry and his focus on providing excellent customer service will be of tremendous benefit to producers in the western United States,” commented Jeff Wallace, vice president of marketing for Besser Company.  O.C. will be working with sales representatives Russ Chenoweth, Brian Motley, Judi Taylor and Mike Wardell. 

Members of the concrete industry will benefit from his knowledge of the marketplace gained through 18 years of experience. O.C. began his career in 1985 as a customer service representative for a concrete block producer in southern California. O.C. joined W.R. Grace in 1994 as a sales representative in the Southwest US and took on additional responsibility in 1997 by assisting in the development of the Latin American and Asian markets. In 1999 he joined Besser Company as a sales representative in the west district leaving to join Master Builders in 2000. His role at Master Builders was to help develop a manufactured concrete segment in the western United States once completed this assignment O.C. was promoted to area manager responsible for the manufactured concrete products and precast segments in the southwest United States.

Besser is the leading manufacturer of equipment for the aggregate, block, cement, landscape, pipe, precast, prestressed and ready-mix segments of the concrete industries.