COAST PACKING - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Operations
Chavis Ferguson, Vice President of Operations, has overall responsibility for production, quality assurance, maintenance, engineering, logistics and customer service. Ferguson began his professional career as a Project Engineer with Monsanto Company and progressed through increasing levels of responsibility at various organizations, including R.R. Donnelley, CSM Bakery Solutions, McCormick and IG Design Group, where he was Vice President of Global Operations.
Ferguson's teams have achieved multiple OSHA VPP Star Safety Awards, Certifications in SQF, BRC, Toyota Lean Manufacturing Systems and Six Sigma - Variability Reductions, among others. His teams have also been recognized for social engagement with the Special Olympics, Junior Achievement, Scouts of America, Relay for Life and the cities of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Monett, Missouri.
Ferguson was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he holds degrees in both Electrical and Computer Engineering. He earned an MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, and is a certified Six Sigma - Green Belt. In 2018, he graduated from the Negotiations program at Harvard University and is currently a board member of the Vernon, California Chamber of Commerce.
Ferguson is married and has two children, Chavis III and Janessa. Away from work, he enjoys road and mountain biking, working out, traveling, movies, and the occasional round of golf.
Eric R. Gustafson is Chairman and CEO of Coast Packing Company (Coast), number one supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western United States. He is the fourth generation of his family to own and operate Coast, has been a member of Coast's Board of Directors since 2009, and was named CEO in 2010. Gustafson is responsible for guiding the company's strategic initiatives and vision, and leads business development, client relationships, and procurement. Over the last 13 years, he has directed all key areas of the business and built the current leadership team to execute Coast's strategic plans. He is proud to have guided Coast to achieve its 102nd year in business. Prior to being named CEO, Gustafson was Vice President of Operations and held various Sales and Marketing positions.
In addition to his responsibilities at Coast, Gustafson serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Board of the Meat Institute. He also is an Officer of the Meat Institute and currently serves as Chairman of the Board. Previously he has served as Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Meat Institute's Labor and Employment Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee for the Edible Oils Producers Association (EOPA).
Gustafson and his family believe in supporting local communities. He served on the Vernon Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors from 2010-2018 and was Chairman of the Board from 2012-2014. In that capacity, he played a critical role lobbying the state legislature on behalf of the Chamber and the "Save Vernon Jobs" coalition. Through these efforts, AB 46 - a bill to disincorporate the City of Vernon - was defeated. From 2012-2014, Gustafson was appointed to the Vernon Housing Commission and was named its first Chairman. He was also appointed to the Vernon Business Industry Commission from 2015-2017 and served as Chairman for one year.
Gustafson and his wife are strong advocates of education through the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation (MBEF), Meat Institute Scholarship Foundation, and USC Athletics. In addition, the Gustafson Family and Coast are active in philanthropy, supporting such charities as Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Make a Wish Foundation, The Midnight Mission, USC Keck School of Medicine, and Vernon Police Officers Benefit Association.
In 2002, Gustafson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences with a minor in Business from the University of Southern California. When not devoting his time to Coast, Gustafson is a competitive drag racer and holds multiple class championships and records. He is a member of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA).
His greatest love and passion is spending time with his wife and three children, and enjoying USC football, traveling the world, golfing, and skiing.
Corporate Chef Corporate Chef Greg Hozinsky joined Coast Packing on the heels of his 14-year tenure at Zislis Group, a restaurant and hotel concern where he … Read More >
Job Titles:
- Regional Sales Director
- Regional Sales Director for Coast Packing, Is Responsible for Sales and New Business Development for the Full Line of Coast 's Lard, Tallow and Blended
- Regional Sales Director for Coast Packing, Is Responsible for Sales and New Business Development for the Full Line of Coast 's Lard, Tallow and Blended Shortening Products
Lisa Lathus, Regional Sales Director for Coast Packing, is responsible for sales and new business development for the full line of Coast's lard, tallow and blended shortening products.
Lathus joined Coast in 2017, after more than two decades in agricultural/industrial product sales, with a focus on wholesale accounts. During her career, she has engaged a range of producers throughout the food services sector, most notably within Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), along with Sara Lee Foodservice, California Oils Corporation, and Global Agri-Trade Corporation.
Working with foodservice accounts, manufacturers, restaurant chains, retail and wholesale stores, Lathus has increased sales of edible oils and shortenings and developed special expertise in market trends.
Martin L. Salinas serves as Director of Finance for Coast Packing, having joined the company in 2019 after more than 20 years with a diverse array of Fortune 500 organizations in information technology, aerospace, manufacturing, biosciences and consumer goods. Salinas previously served with such companies as BD Biosciences, CarlisleIT, Koch Membrane Systems, Overland Data, SSP Senior Aerospace, TaylorMade/Adidas Golf, THQ, and World Oil Corp.
Salinas brings to Coast a record of accomplishment in disciplines that include plant
control/management, financial planning & analysis, cost accounting and cost recognition. At Cardinal Health, he graduated from the company's Emerging Leadership Program and Kaizen Leadership Training. Salinas created, implemented and led a Custom-order Profitability System at TaylorMade and a Cost-by-Profit-Center Tracking System at THQ. He holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of San Diego.
Job Titles:
- President
- Late President & Chairman of Coast Packing, Named Citizen of the Year by Vernon Chamber of Commerce
Ronald "Ron" Rieder Gustafson, President of Coast Packing Company (Coast) and third-generation patriarch of the business his family founded in 1922, died peacefully surrounded by his family on June 25 at 78.
In his more than half century at the company, Ron was instrumental in transforming Coast into a leading supplier of edible fats and oils and the number one supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western United States. Under his leadership and strategic vision, he built the company's executive and management team, improved its facilities, and modernized production, enabling the business to continue to thrive amid changing market conditions and consumer demand.
Ron began working at Coast during the summer of 1955 at the age of 12. His first job involved packaging bacon for retail and supermarket chains. He often recalled his first pay raise negotiation with his grandfather and Coast's founder, Anton Rieder. The result was an increase from $1.00 to $1.10 per day - with the founder reminding him it was a 10 percent raise.
A Los Angeles native, Ron received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Technology from California State University, Los Angeles, and a secondary teaching credential from the State of California in 1968. After graduation, Ron was drafted and spent two years in the U. S. Army stationed at Fort Ord, Fort Knox, and Fort Benning. His final post was in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he achieved the highest military clearance for a civilian, Top Secret NATO, and was responsible for intelligence communications. Ron was very proud to serve his country and credited his time in the Army to further honing his leadership skills and preparing him for life and business challenges.
Prior to Ron's Honorable Discharge, his grandfather wrote a letter asking him to rejoin Coast. He was excited to continue his family legacy but only after traveling the world for six months. On October 1, 1970, he started working at Coast and began his more than 50-year journey leading the company. In 1973, he met the love of his life, Nadya, and he knew very early on that she was the one. When asked how he knew, he said, "I saw how she treated her family and friends and how loving, caring and kind she is. I knew that is how I would be treated for the rest of my life, and she would be a great wife and mother." They were married March 17, 1974, and welcomed the birth of their children, Colleen and Eric. In 1982, to further improve his skills and leadership of Coast, Ron earned his MBA from Pepperdine University.
For 30-plus years, Ron served as a director of WSMA and NMA, the predecessor trade associations of the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). He chaired numerous committees, including long-range strategic planning, membership and education. More than 20 years ago, Ron helped establish and lead the WSMA/NMA Scholarship Foundation, now the NAMI Scholarship Foundation, and recently served as Emeritus Director. The Scholarship Foundation provides financial awards to undergraduate students majoring in animal, meat and food sciences plus culinary arts. In August 2018, the Scholarship Board of Directors surprised Ron by endowing the Ron Gustafson Scholarship in his honor. Always a supporter of fostering the next generation of leaders, Ron enjoyed his role as a CAP mentor at the USC Marshall School of Business for 18 years. For more than 10 years, he also served on the board of the Institute of Shortenings and Edible Oils (ISEO). In late 2019, Ron was named by the Vernon Chamber of Commerce as the first recipient of Vernon's Citizen of the Year Award.
Ron's personal interests were vast, ranging from philanthropy, collecting Western American historical books and maps, and avidly supporting classical music, as he did as treasurer of the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights - an organization that honored him with its Local Business Leader Award. He served in numerous leadership roles of three organizations - the Jonathan Heritage Foundation, the Los Angeles Railroad Historical Foundation and the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society. Ron also had a lifelong passion for auto racing, an avocation he shared with son Eric through Coast Packing's R&E Racing Team - a fixture on the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) and National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) circuits.
Above all else, Ron's greatest accomplishment is his family. Ron loved his family more than anything in the world and instilled a strong sense of family, love, patience, persistence, philanthropy and an unrivaled work ethic. He was a perpetual thinker and teacher and enjoyed sharing his wisdom with anyone willing to learn. A loving husband and father, Ron leaves behind Nadya, his wife of 47 years; children Colleen Gustafson-Espenschied and Eric R. Gustafson; daughter-in-law Courtney Gustafson; son-in-law Brad Espenschied; and grandchildren Luke, Addison, and Ashlyn Espenschied and Avery, Robert (Bo), and Lucy Gustafson.